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T TESTAMENT 
LEAGUE 




George T. B.Davis 




Class ZBM3S5L 

Book TTklln 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



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THE POCKET TESTAMENT 

LEAGUE 

AROUND THE WORLD 



THE 

POCKET TESTAMENT 
LEAGUE 

AROUND THE WORLD 



BY 

GEORGE T. B. DAVIS 

AUTHOR OF 
"KOREA FOR CHRIST," ETC, 



PRICE 25 CENTS 



THE POCKET TESTAMENT LEAGUE 

Witherspoon Building 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 



**"& 



Copyright 1910 

BY 

CHAELES M. ALEXANDER 

International Copyright Secured 



% CCI.A278413 



FOREWORD. 

The Pocket Testament League has encircled the 
globe. 

It is actively at work in many lands. 

It has been commended by hosts of distinguished 
Christian leaders. 

It has helped a great multitude of Christian workers 
to know Christ better and to serve Him more faith- 
fully. ^tM^r 

It has suggested the best methods for personal work. 

It has been the means of leading many to Christ. 

It may well be encouraged by all who honor Jesus 
as the Son of God. 

It has been to me a constant blessing and an ever- 
increasing inspiration. 

I have seen what it can do in Occident and Orient ; 
in the islands of the sea, and in the home land, and I 
pray God's richest blessing upon it. 

J. Wilbur Chapman. 



CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Origin of the Movement I 

II. The Transforming Power of the Word. . . 9 

III. Launching the League in America 19 

IV. Spreading the Word in Australia 32 

V. Sowing the Seed in the Orient . . 47 

VI. Carrying the Word in Korea and Japan ... 58 

VII. The League in Great Britain 68 

VIII. How to Start the League 75 

IX. Hours for Soul- Winning 80 

X. The Sword of the Spirit 85 



The Pocket Testament League 
Around The World 



CHAPTER I. 
THE ORIGIN OF THE MOVEMENT. 

"Holding fast the faithful Word." Titus 1, 9. 

In the city of Birmingham, England, a young 
girl who had given her heart to God when twelve 
years of age, had a great longing that her fellow- 
pupils at the Girls' High School might learn to 
know and love her Saviour. In her youthful en- 
thusiasm she was led to originate a plan for read- 
ing the Scriptures and for winning people to Christ, 
which, through the blessing of God, has become 
one of the most interesting and far-reaching move- 
ments of this generation. 

The young girl was Helen Cadbury, a daughter 
of Richard Cadbury, the well-known Christian 
philanthropist, a member of the Society of Friends, 
and one of Birmingham's foremost benefactors, 
who was like a father to his employees and to the 
poor people of the city. Miss Cadbury, who after- 
wards became the wife of Mr. Charles M. Alex- 
ander, the Gospel song leader, gives the following 
interesting story of how she was led to begin the 

1 



2 The Pocket Testament League. 

movement which is now known throughout the 
world as the Pocket Testament League : 

"If ever a girl was blessed with a Christian 
father and mother and an ideal Christian home, 
I was that girl. From my earliest childhood I 
had not only been taught about the Lord Jesus 
Christ but had seen Him glorified in the lives 
around me. And yet I learned from my own ex- 
perience that the very best home training is not 
sufficient without a personal acceptance of Christ. 
People often say that children cannot understand 
spiritual things, and I remember a friend of mine 
once saying to me that she intended never to allow 
her little girl three years old to even hear the word 
'sin.' But I know that these things were very 
real to me as a child. When I was twelve years 
old I remember that for months my heart was 
heavy and burdened with the sense of un forgiven 
sin. I longed to be a Christian like my father and 
mother; but I knew that my will was not fully 
yielded to God. 

"My father was a busy man. Although at the 
head of a great business, his chief aim in life 
both in his business and outside it was to work 
for the Lord Jesus Christ in bringing others to 
know Him. Besides the Mission work in connec- 
tion with the factory and surrounding village, he 
had built up a most successful work in a slum dis- 
trict of the city. He had built a Mission Hall in 
which meetings were held all the year round. Once 



The Pocket Testament League. 3 

a year, usually in the autumn, a special effort was 
made by means of a two-weeks' mission to gather 
in outsiders, men and women who belonged to no 
place of worship. Our workers would go into the 
public houses night after night, and into the streets, 
and bring them into the Mission Hall. At such 
times we children were allowed occasionally to go 
with our father to the evening meeting. How well 
my memory takes me back to one night in Novem- 
ber, when he took me with him. The Mission Hall 
was crowded, many of the poor men and women 
from the streets having come in. I sat at the back 
of the hall with some of our friends, while my 
father went on to the platform with the missioner. 
I remember nothing of the sermon, except that 
through it all I heard the voice of God speaking- 
straight to my heart. But I do remember one of 
the hymns that we sang. It was an old-fashioned 
hymn, perhaps not one that might seem likely to 
interest a child. 

"Free from the law, O happy condition, 
Jesus has bled and there is remission ; 
Cursed by the law, and bruised by the fall, 
Christ hath redeemed us once for all." 

"I looked about at the faces of the people as we 
sang. Many were there amongst our workers, 
whose lives in the past had been as bruised and 
wretched as some of those whom they had brought 
from the public-houses that night. But Christ had 



4 The Pocket Testament League. 

redeemed them, and as I saw the light on their 
faces while they sang Tree from the law/ I knew 
it was more than mere words to them. They were 
free, and they knew it. A hunger came into my 
own heart. If only I could sing it as they were 
singing it. If only I could know, too, that for a 
certainty I was free from the law. At the close 
of the meeting an invitation was given for any 
who would accept Christ that night to signify it 
openly by rising to their feet. I seemed to forget 
the people round me. I only knew that God was 
calling me; and with others in the hall I rose to 
my feet. A little later, and those who had risen 
were invited to come forward to a little room at 
the back of the platform, where they could have 
quiet personal conversation and prayer with one 
of the workers. 

"Now came a struggle, for I felt all would know 
me if I walked through the hall, but I half rose 
to my feet, when one of my friends touched my 
arm and suggested what was already in my own 
mind, 'Why not wait till you get home, when you 
can have a quiet talk with your father and mother !' 
Then I knew that I must act. For if it was good 
for these men and women to make an open con- 
fession of their need of Christ, then it was good 
for me, too, for my need was as great as theirs. 
So I was given courage to walk through the hall 
to the little room, which was filled with inquirers 
and workers. I saw my father in one corner of 



The Pocket Testament League. 5 

the room kneeling in prayer with a young man, 
who had evidently come in under the influence of 
drink, but was completely broken down. I sat and 
waited, and in a few moments my father rose from 
his knees, and looked across the room. Never shall 
I forget the light in his eyes as he saw r his own little 
girl sitting there. 

"He came to me at once, and knelt and prayed 
with me. For years that dear voice has been silent 
on earth, but its tender tones are still fresh in my 
memory as he prayed that God would take and 
keep my life. From that day a new impulse for 
living began for me. The joy and peace which 
God had given me was too good to be kept to my- 
self, and I longed for others with whom to share 
it. I was too young to do much, but amongst my 
schoolmates were girls representing all phases of 
belief and unbelief. Here was a great field for 
work ready to my hand, and I asked God to help 
me to win some of these girls to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

"I soon found another girl who was an earnest 
Christian, and we banded ourselves together, as 
soul-winners. Sometimes we met with rebuffs, but 
these were more than outweighed by the joy of 
leading some to Christ. We were very anxious 
not in any way to put forward our own opinions, 
but tried to make the Word of God our only 
weapon. We each kept a Bible in our desks, and 
always made use of it when we could. As far as 



6 The Pocket Testament League. 

possible we made it a rule never to argue, and only 
to speak to one girl at a time when we could be 
alone with her. 

"There were often opportunities in a quiet class- 
room before or after school, or in a corner of the 
garden at recess times. Being only a day school, 
such times were limited, but our talks were often 
supplemented by letters, or by inviting the girls to 
our homes. One difficulty that we met with at 
school was how to get at our Bibles just when we 
wanted them, and my special friend and I decided 
to carry a small pocket Testament always about 
with us. We would have preferred a whole Bible, 
but for a girl's pocket this was too bulky. 

"Finding this habit of carrying God's Word of 
great help to ourselves, both for our own reading 
at odd minutes, and especially in doing personal 
work, the thought came to us to organize amongst 
the girls a little Society which we named the 
'Pocket Testament League.' Every member was 
expected to always carry a Testament about with 
her, and a challenge was instituted. If a member 
of the League meeting another pulled out her Testa- 
ment, the other was obliged to produce hers in 
reply to the challenge. In this way we kept each 
other up to the mark. Every member was also ex- 
pected to read a portion of the Bible (Old or New 
Testament) every day, and as at that time the 
membership was restricted to Christians, each was 



The Pocket Testament League. Z 

expected to work definitely in trying to lead others 
to Christ. 

"Immediately the plan was found to be a great 
strength and help to our little band of Christian 
girls, who became enthusiastic members, and were 
thus drawn more closely together. My special 
friend and I, who were the Secretaries, sent out 
a quarterly letter, and occasional meetings were 
held at our homes, to which members of the League 
invited the girls in whom they were specially inter- 
ested. During the few years that we remained at 
the High School the League grew to nearly sixty 
members. It is a great joy sometimes to meet un- 
expectedly a fellow-member of the old High School 
Pocket Testament League. Just recently when 
traveling through Japan I met one of them, now 
the wife of a missionary. 

"It is a wonderful encouragement to know that 
the plan so quietly begun in the school days should 
have been used by God as a means of spreading 
His Word broadcast over the world; and in mak- 
ing it more loved, more widely read, and more 
definitely used as the weapon of soul-winning." 

The pledge of the present movement is as fol- 
lows :-— "I hereby accept membership in the Pocket 
Testament League by making it the rule of my life 
to read at least one chapter in the Bible each day, 
and to carry a Testament or Bible with me wherever 

I go." 

-■ The organization is for men, women and chil- 



8 The Pocket Testament League. 

dren, of any age, class or nationality. It holds the 
same attraction for the native recently reclaimed 
from savagery in the Fiji Islands, as for the Uni- 
versity graduate in a western seat of learning. One 
of the most interesting members of the League is 
Miss Fanny Crosby, the honored hymn-writer, who 
recently celebrated her ninetieth birthday. One of 
the youngest members was Dr. J. Wilbur Chap- 
man's little son, Hamilton, who joined the League 
before he could read, and listened eagerly as his 
nurse read a chapter each evening. 

The League appeals to all classes. Among the 
enthusiastic members of the movement are police- 
men and preachers, soldiers and evangelists, sailors 
and professors, railway men and business men, 
tramcar men and members of professions, journal- 
ists, singers, writers ; poor and rich, people of high 
social standing as well as dwellers in slums. It 
is hard to state whether it has aroused the keenest 
interest in England or America, in Australia or 
China, in Japan or Korea. Because it is simply a 
plan to make God's Word a more vital factor in 
the daily life of every believer its appeal is as uni- 
versal as the human race. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE 

WORD. 

"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious 
promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the Vvvine 
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world 
through lust." II. Peter, 1> 4. 

There is no alchemy in the world like the Word 
of God. It transforms and transfigures, beauti- 
fies and glorifies every life it touches. 

The aim of the Pocket Testament League is to 
exalt God's Word, and to show to the modern world 
that the Book of Books is the secret of all success 
in individual and national life. 

The writer's experience in connection with the 
League is but one of thousands illustrating the 
power of the Word. Six years ago I went from 
Chicago to England to take part in the work of 
the Torrey-Alexander Missions. It was at Bolton 
that I first saw the mission meetings. One evening 
after the sermon was over and personal work was 
being done in all parts of the building, Mr. Alex- 
ander called me to him, and told me to take my 
Bible and go down and lead someone to Christ. 

Let me confess that this was a difficult task, 

9 



10 The Pocket Testament League. 

although it should not have been so in view of my 
training. My father was a minister, my mother 
is a saint of God. I was in the habit of spending 
nearly all day Sunday at the church in religious 
work. But there were two things I had failed to 
do. I had neglected personal work on week-days, 
and had failed to speak to strangers as well as my 
own intimate friends about definitely accepting 
Christ as their personal Saviour. I used to read 
how Moody would speak to people even on trains 
about accepting Christ, and I thought that was all 
right for an evangelist, but never imagined it neces- 
sary for an ordinary Christian. 

When Mr. Alexander urged me to engage in 
personal work night after night in the meetings in 
Bolton, it appeared a hard undertaking. I had 
not the courage to speak to grown people, but sim- 
ply began with boys. Night after night I pleaded 
with them, and finally as one after another said 
that they would accept Christ as their Saviour it 
filled me with a strange and wonderful joy. I 
began to see a new meaning in the Christian life, 
and to realize the duty of every Christian to obey 
Christ's command to become "fishers of men." 
The joy of soul-winning was so great that I soon 
found myself doing personal work not simply in 
revival meetings, but on the streets, in street-cars, 
and wherever I went. 

It was during the Torrey-Alexander Mission in 
Liverpool a few weeks later that I heard one of 




The first Birmingham policeman 
who joined the Pocket Testa- 
ment League and accepted 
Christ. 



The tallest policeman in Scot- 
land with his League Testa- 
ment. His height is 6 feet 6 
inches. 




Mr. Drakeley, the one-time lame 
beggar who accepted Christ, 
and read his Testament 
through 27 times in a year. 



Nakai, the Japanese barber on 
the S.S. "Kumano Maru," who 
read the New Testament 
through on the voyage from 
Sydney to Hong Kong. 



The Pocket Testament League. 11 

the converts, Mr. Ted Roberts, give a testimony, 
which gave me a new love for the Word of God. 
He had been a referee at prize fights, and a thor- 
ough man of the world. For six years, unknown 
to him, his wife had been praying for his conver- 
sion. At last she met with a little group of friends 
each week, and they united their petitions for his 
salvation. 

One day he promised to accompany his wife to 
the Torrey-Alexander meeting at the Philharmonic 
Hall. When they drew near to the building they 
found it packed to the doors, with a crowd outside. 
Turning to his companion, Mr. Roberts said, "Wife, 
do you think I am going to crush through this 
crew?" Later, in speaking of the incident, Mr. 
Roberts said if it had been a crush at a prize fight 
he would have forced his way through it with the 
best of them. But Mrs. Roberts replied, "Ted, 
you have promised me, and you must come." At 
length they got inside the building, but Mr. Rob- 
erts did not yield to the influence of either the 
singing or the sermon. God's Spirit, however, be- 
gan to work with him. 

A day or two later he greatly astonished his wife 
by saying that he believed he would go down to 
another of the meetings. As he drew near to the 
building he declared that God's Spirit was striving 
so mightily with him that he would have waited 
a day and a half instead of an hour and a half if 
necessary in order to get inside. 



12 The Pocket Testament League. 

At length he secured an entrance, and once more 
nothing seemed to impress him until the audience 
began to sing that wonderful hymn, "When I Sur- 
vey the Wondrous Cross." When they came to 
that matchless third verse: 

"See from His head, His hands, His feet, 
Sorrow and love flow mingled down, 

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, 
Or thorns compose so rich a crown ?" 

Mr. Roberts said that he bowed his head in front 
of him, and cried like a child. It was the vision 
of Jesus suffering on the Cross for his sins that 
had conquered. He went to the front and said to 
the man that dealt with him, "Sir, do you know 
I have seen more of that Book in the last five 
minutes than in the past fifteen years." He found 
Christ that night, and became one of the most 
enthusiastic Christian workers in Liverpool, and 
has remained such until this day. 

It was a year later, during the Torrey-Alexan- 
der Mission in Tournament Hall that I heard Mr. 
Roberts give his testimony. As he concluded he 
said, "Friends, I want to tell you, whenever I 
change my coat I change my Bible; I always carry 
it with me" As Mr. Roberts uttered that sentence 
it sank deep into my soul. I felt ashamed of my- 
self. I had been a Christian nearly all my life, 
and had been trying to win others to Christ, but I 
did not always carry a Testament or a Bible about 



The Pocket Testament League. 13 

with me. I determined that with God's help I 
would henceforth carry a Testament or Bible with 
me wherever I went. I began the practice, and it 
was such a great blessing that I commenced to carry 
my own Bible in one pocket, and in another to carry 
an extra Gospel or Testament to give to someone 
else. 

Just at this time Mrs. Alexander told me the 
story of how she had started the Pocket Testament 
League in Birmingham in her school-days. The 
plan impressed me greatly. I decided that when I 
gave a Testament to a person it should be given on 
the two conditions that they carry it with them, 
and read at least one chapter each day, and thus 
join the League. I discovered that to give a per- 
son God's Word when urging them to accept Christ 
doubles the effectiveness of personal work, and 
makes it a constant delight instead of something 
to be dreaded. 

The transforming power of the Word of God 
was realized more fully every day as I continued 
giving away Testaments. While Mr. Alexander 
was making his second tour round the world I 
spent a number of months in America. At this 
time an invitation came from Dr. George W. 
Bailey, afterwards president of the World's Sun- 
day School Association, to attend, with my mother, 
the World's Sunday School Convention at Rome, 
Italy, in May, 1907. Before beginning the journey 
the idea came to me that it would be an excellent 



14 The Pocket Testament League. 

plan to distribute Testaments and Gospels all along 
the way from Chicago to Rome and back. Through 
the generosity of friends 5,000 Gospels and some 
hundreds of Testaments were purchased. The plan 
was put into operation from the beginning to the 
end of the tour. The first Gospel given away was 
to the conductor of the street-car in Chicago, with 
whom I rode en route to the station. I well re- 
member that as I stepped off his car opposite the 
city hall there rang out upon the night air the some- 
what unusual farewell from a street-car man, "God 
bless you on your journey/' It was an auspicious 
beginning. Thereafter Gospels and Testaments 
were given out freely to railway men and passen- 
gers while traveling to New York; to steerage and 
other passengers on the specially chartered ship, 
the "Neckar," on which we crossed the Atlantic 
Ocean to Italy; and to all sorts and conditions of 
people in Italy and Europe. 

In Italy, Gospels in Italian, French, German and 
Spanish were purchased, and were given to hotel 
people, guides, carriage drivers, railway people, 
tram-car men — everyone. In each country I en- 
deavored to learn one or two simple phrases of the 
language, such as "Bitte, tragen Sie das uberall mit 
in der Tasche, und lese Sie es jeden Tag," meaning 
"Carry this about with you in your pocket and 
read it each day." Naturally I had no means of 
ascertaining what harvest came from this seed- 
sowing, but I know well the effect upon myself of 



The Pocket Testament League. 15 

thus leaving a trail of Testaments and Gospels 
10,000 miles long. It doubled the joy of the whole 
journey. I discovered that to give away God's 
Word as you travel, gives a new interest and zest 
all along the way, 

A few months later while working with Mr. 
Alexander in Birmingham, a series of incidents oc- 
curred which revealed to me as never before the 
power of God's Word to lead souls from darkness 
to light. One morning I had scarcely gone twenty 
steps from the place I was lodging when I met a 
big, fine-looking policeman. Before leaving my 
room I had had a word of prayer, asking God to 
give me a message to someone. I approached him 
and began to talk about the weather at first. Finally 
I gained sufficient courage to talk about the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Presently I was astonished to see a 
tear glistening in the constable's eye. I thought to 
myself, this man is in earnest about this matter. 
Presently I showed him a small illustrated Testa- 
ment, and said I would give it to him if he would 
simply read a chapter a day and carry it with him. 
He agreed, and joined the League. A month passed. 

Mr. Alexander was conducting a meeting in a 
little Mission Hall at which I was present. Back 
near the door dressed in plain clothes sat that same 
policeman. When the invitation to accept Christ was 
given, he was the first man to respond, and with 
others walked down to the front to publicly confess 
Christ It tttok a gdod deal of courage, because 



16 The Pocket Testament League. 

most of the others were young people. He turned 
around and faced the audience, and in company 
with the others rang out the declaration, "I accept 
Jesus as my Saviour, my Lord, and my King." He 
was such a big stalwart man — Mr. Alexander was 
not aware that he was a policeman — that the Gospel 
singer turned to him and said, "Brother, I do not 
usually ask this, but I would like to know what it 
was that led you to become a Christian." The 
policeman answered at once, "It was a little Testa- 
ment given me on the street a month ago." 

Finding that one little Testament had led one big 
policeman to Christ I determined to give a Testa- 
ment to each policeman in the station, so for once 
I kept after the policemen instead of their keeping 
after me! They all accepted the books, and nearly 
everyone joined the Pocket Testament League. They 
began reading and carrying the books with great 
enthusiasm. As I met them upon the street day 
after day, I asked them how they were getting along 
with their reading, and they would pull out the 
Testament and show me how far they had read. 
In five months eight of them confessed Christ as 
their own personal Saviour, and a little later five 
of them joined the church. It was not due to my 
words, but to God's Word. "My word," saith the 
Lord, "shall not return unto me void." It was a 
genuine revival that transformed the atmosphere 
df the police station. 

It go happened that just at the time when the 



The Pocket Testament League. 17 

policemen in this station were busily engaged in 
reading and carrying their Testaments, a new con- 
stable came to the station. He began to make fun 
of the men for reading God's Word and carrying 
about with them the little Testaments. He espe- 
cially ridiculed the first man who had confessed 
Christ. But gradually love and prayer conquered. 
The constable joined the Testament League him- 
self, and at length accepted Christ as his personal 
Saviour. Eight months later, when I returned to 
England from America, I met this policeman upon 
the street one Sunday evening. His face was radiant 
as he told me how he had read the entire Testa- 
ment through, and had then reached Exodus in the 
Old Testament. About two years later upon re- 
turning to England again, this policeman told me 
eagerly how he had read the whole Bible through, 
how he had been looking after the Pocket Testa- 
ment League at the police station, and how, with 
God's help, he would endeavor to start family pray- 
ers in his home. 

But of all the policemen in that station no one 
has made better progress in the Christian life than 
the first man who publicly confessed Christ at the 
little mission hall. A few months ago while in 
Korea, I received a beautiful letter from this police- 
man, in which he said: "No doubt you will think 
I have forgotten all about you, but I shall never 
forget your kindness to me. I met you in Edgbas- 
ton Road on the 22nd October, 1907. Praise God 



18 The Pocket Testament League. 

for that meeting. I have been a teetotaler two 
years this day. Thank God for the happiness He 
has given me. I have just finished reading the New 
Testament through again. I think this makes the 
fifth time I have read it through since you gave it 
to me, and the Old Testament I have read through 
once. The more I read of it the more I want to 
read. I am attending the Congregational Church.' ' 

Not long ago Mr. and Mrs. Alexander and Miss 
Cadbury entertained the policemen of the two sta- 
tions nearest their home in Birmingham, England. 
Twenty-five policemen were present. It was found 
that fifteen of the men were already members of 
the Pocket Testament League, while the other ten 
enlisted and w r ere presented with Testaments. Be- 
fore the evening was over, the wife of the police- 
man who had been the first to confess Christ, told 
Mrs. Alexander she would accept Him as her per- 
sonal Saviour. 

In one of those stations today every policeman is 
a member of the Pocket Testament League; eight 
constables have joined the church; and three others 
recently confessed Christ. It all began with the gift 
of a Testament. 



CHAPTER III. 
LAUNCHING THE LEAGUE IN AMERICA. 

"And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the 
Spirit which is the Word of God." Eph. 6, 17. 

In March, 1908, Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman and 
Mr. Charles M. Alexander united for evangelistic 
services throughout the world as the Lord might 
direct. Bcause of his association with Dwight L. 
Moody, and in connection with his pastorates in 
Albany, Philadelphia and New York, as well as 
through his successful simultaneous missions in the 
leading cities of the country, Dr. Chapman had been 
recognized for years as an evangelistic leader in 
the United States. Mr. Alexander, after a pro- 
longed association with Dr. R. A. Torrey, and after 
journeying twice round the world, had become 
known everywhere as a marvelous leader of sacred 
song. Their coming together for evangelistic mis- 
sions was the commencement of a great work for 
God both in America and in foreign lands. 

It was during the Chapman-Alexander Mission 
in Philadelphia in the spring of 1908 that the Pocket 
Testament League was made a world-wide move- 
ment. For years Mr. Alexander had watched with 

19 



20 The Pocket Testament League. 

keen interest the far-reaching results which had 
come from the quiet working of the League in Eng- 
land. It was now felt that the time had come to 
make the plan an international movement. During 
the Philadelphia mission Dr. Chapman called to- 
gether the evangelists cooperating in the campaign, 
and one afternoon on the platform of the Academy 
of Music the movement was heartily endorsed and 
started on its world-wide career. A few days later 
the League was formally launched by Dr. Chapman 
and Mr. Alexander at a meeting, which was at- 
tended by prominent Christian leaders and by repre- 
sentatives of the secular and religious press. 

The movement found instant favour. Press and 
pulpit alike hailed the plan as one fraught with 
great possibilities for the advancement of God's 
Kingdom. During the past two years and a half 
the League has been introduced into England, the 
United States, Canada, the Hawaiian Islands, the 
Fiji Islands, the New Hebrides, Australia, New 
Zealand, Tasmania, the Philippine Islands, China, 
Japan and Korea; and fully 100,000 members have 
been secured throughout the world. 

Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman is convinced that the 
League will help greatly in bringing about a world- 
wide revival. He says : 

"I am sure that the influence of the Pocket Testa- 
ment League will be world-wide. I confidently be- 
lieve that in a very short time we shall have a mil- 
lion members; and if a million people would agree 



The Pocket Testament League. 21 

to read a chapter in the New Testament each day, 
and put into their living the principles presented 
in this best of all books, we would, in a short time, 
have the whole world throbbing with the power of 
a great revival. To know the New Testament is 
to know Jesus; to know Him is to be like Him. 
To familiarize oneself with the New Testament 
Scriptures is to learn the secret of victory over sin 
and the power of holy living." 

Mr. Alexander is equally enthusiastic over the 
new plan. Shortly after it was launched he said 
to the writer : 

"The Pocket Testament League is the strongest 
move in the right direction I have seen in recent 
years. I have been constantly watching it for two 
years, and praying about it. It is simple, and strikes 
at the centre of things. My prayer is that it may 
encircle the world. I am going to use every energy 
I have to further the movement." 

The American headquarters of the League are 
at 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The general 
secretary is Dr. Parley E. Zartmann, who is also 
an enthusiast regarding the value of the movement 
for developing individual character and in pro- 
moting the Kingdom, Dr, Zartmann says : "Evan- 
gelists, pastors and laymen in all parts of the coun- 
try are securing members for the League and giving 
away New Testaments. An oft-opened Bible means 
clearer vision, stronger faith, prevailing prayer, 
deeper devotion, consistent living, more loving and 



22 The Pocket Testament League. 

loyal service to Him whose face shines out from 
every page of the old Book." 

Just at the time of the launching of the League 
in Philadelphia, an incident occurred within a few 
yards of Hotel Lincoln which demonstrated the 
adaptability of the movement to people of every sort 
and condition. One day while passing along the 
street in Philadelphia I saw a miserable-looking ob- 
ject squatted down on the side-walk. He was a 
beggar with one leg gone, one hand crumpled up, 
and his figure unkempt through drink. His cap 
was on his crutches before him for receiving alms. 
As I passed by something seemed to say, "Here is 
a man who needs salvation as much as anyone." 
I went back and gave him a Gospel of St. John, 
and asked him whether he was a Christian. "No," 
he replied, "I am no Christian." He appreciated the 
little Gospel so much, however, that a day or two 
later I gave him an entire New Testament. He 
agreed to read a chapter a day and carry it with 
him. 

Several days later I passed him, and his face 
was shining. I said, "Brother, what has happened 
to you?" In reply he pulled out the little Gospel 
which contained a decision card with the words 
"I hereby accept Jesus Christ as my personal Sa- 
viour, and will henceforth live for Him and publicly 
confess Him," and said, "Look there. I have signed 
my name. I have become a Christian," and so he 
had. 



The Pocket Testament League. 23 

Gradually he told me his life story. He said he 
had been one of the worst men in the city of Phila- 
delphia. He told how he had been in a hospital 
for a week out of his mind from the effects of 
liquor. He stated that for several days after he 
had accepted Christ the appetite for drink was ter- 
rible, but suddenly it left him. Now he did not 
know what was the matter with him; he was so 
happy he wanted to sing hymns all the day long. 
A short time later the new convert went to a big 
meeting conducted by Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alex- 
ander at the Baptist Temple on Broad Street. At 
the conclusion of the meeting an invitation was 
given for testimony. Presently the lame beggar 
hobbled up to the front on his crutches, turned 
round and faced the audience, and began to roll 
out in such an eloquent way what the Lord had done 
for his soul, that Mr. Alexander in his genial way, 
said, "Hold on, brother. If you keep on like that 
Dr. Chapman will lose his job!" The man's soul 
was full of joy because he had been saturating his 
mind with God's Word. He sat out in the park 
for five hours and scarcely moved until he had read 
ioo chapters. In three days he read the entire New 
Testament. 

During the weeks and months following the Mis- 
sion the one-time beggar, Mr. T. C. L. Drakeley, 
wrote me constantly, telling me how he was wit- 
nessing for Christ, and the joy he found in reading 
the Bible. When I left New York for Australia I 



24 The Pocket Testament League. 

went by way of Philadelphia, especially to see him. 
He met me in the railway station, and his face was 
radiant as he said, "I am the happiest man under this 
roof this afternoon/' He went on to tell me how he 
was going about the city working for God, and then 
I asked, "How about the little Testament? How 
many times have you read it through the last year?" 
He replied, "After lunch today I finished reading 
it through for the twenty-seventh time," — and it 
was still three days less than a year since he had 
received it. It was little wonder that he had power 
to witness for Christ. His whole soul was satu- 
rated with the word of Life. 

The simplicity and practicability of the League 
made it appeal strongly and immediately to busy 
people, such as business men, newspaper men, pro- 
fessional men, ministers, evangelists, and railway 
and street car men. It is surprising to notice 
the interest displayed by the railway men in the 
League. During a journey of one thousand miles 
from Vermont to Chicago made by the writer, 
twenty-one railroad men joined the League, includ- 
ing three conductors, five brakemen, porters, dining 
car waiters, and the engineer and fireman on the 
Lake Shore Limited. 

On another journey from New York to Indiana, 
seventeen railroad men joined, and a brakeman and 
a passenger accepted Christ as their Saviour. While 
going from Cincinnati to Chicago I gave a Testa- 
ment to a Pullman porter. Nine months later I 



The Pocket Testament League. 25 

met him in Richmond, Virginia. He told me he had 
read the Testament through three times, and had 
given thirty-two away to others. 

Upon one occasion while passing through the 
Pennsylvania railway station in New York I gave 
a Testament to a porter, who as usual promised 
to carry it with him and read a chapter each day. 
Eight months later at the conclusion of a Chapman- 
Alexander meeting in the Metropolitan Opera 
House, New York, a number of the mission party 
were passing through the same railway station. It 
was almost midnight. Several porters were assist- 
ing with the baggage. Suddenly I seemed to rec- 
ognize one of them, and said, "Are you not the 
man to whom I gave a Testament some time ago?" 
Pulling the little book out of his pocket he an- 
swered, "Yes, and here it is." "Has it done you 
any good ?" I asked. "Well/' he replied, "it has done 
me this much good. Since you gave it to me I have 
joined the church, and now I am an Elder in the 
church." The man established family prayers in 
his home, and frequently when passing through the 
station I see him, and he tells me of the joy that 
he finds in serving God and trying to win others 
to his new-found Master. It all came about from 
the gift of a New Testament. 

From the first the movement has appealed 
strongly to ministers, evangelists and Christian 
workers of all kinds. In the summer of 1908, at 
the Winona Bible Conference, conducted by Dr. 



26 The Pocket Testament League. 

Chapman, the origin of the Pocket Testament 
League was related by Mrs. Alexander to a large 
audience of evangelists, ministers, missionaries and 
Christian workers. At the conclusion of the service 
cards of membership were passed, and Gipsy Smith, 
the well-known evangelist, who was seated on the 
platform, was the first to join the movement. Rev. 
W. H. Hubbard, D.D., of Auburn, New York, was 
so interested that he said he wanted to purchase 
hundreds of Testaments for the prisoners in the 
State penitentiary there. Later Dr. Hubbard gave 
Testaments to five hundred students in Berea Col- 
lege, Kentucky, who joined the League. 

Near the close of 1908 it was my privilege to 
accompany Dr. Chapman in a tour he was making 
of the theological seminaries of the Presbyterian 
Church. Most of the students in these theological 
training schools enthusiastically joined the League. 
At Omaha Seminary at the conclusion of an address 
on the League one of the students arose and asked 
if he might say a few words about the power of 
God's Word to lead people to Christ. He told 
how he had formerly been a prize fighter, but 
had found Christ and was now studying for the 
ministry. During one of his vacations he had 
charge of a little church. He said he knew he 
could not preach well, so he determined to give the 
people God's Word. After three months of hard 
work he had saved up fifteen dollars. With this 
he purchased New Testaments, and presented one 



The Pocket Testament League. 27 

to each member of the church, and each scholar of 
the Sunday School. The result was that in six 
months the membership of the church was trebled. 

The League was made a prominent feature of the 
great Chapman-Alexander Mission in Boston, 
Mass., in the spring of 1909. It was enthusiastically 
received by all classes. At a huge meeting for men 
only, conducted by the evangelists one Sunday after- 
noon at Mechanics' Hall, the movement was briefly 
outlined, and in fifteen minutes one thousand seven 
hundred men had signed their names to the mem- 
bership cards. The agent of the Massachusetts 
Bible Society said that as the result of the Mission 
and the League the demand for Bibles and Testa- 
ments was so great that they were sometimes com- 
pelled to work until late at night to execute the 
orders for God's Word. 

During the Mission the Boston newspapers de- 
voted whole pages to recording the progress of 
the great revival which swept the city under the 
leadership of Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alexander. 
The newspaper men and women became so inter- 
ested in the League that twenty- four of them signed 
cards of membership. They also presented pocket 
Bibles to the evangelists to carry around the world 
with them. 

It is a striking fact that the Pocket Testament 
League has appealed peculiarly to newspaper people 
everywhere. In Columbus, Ohio, eight newspaper 
men joined in three days, including three city edi- 



28 The Pocket Testament League. 

tors. A prominent newspaper woman on the staff 
of one of the leading New York dailies joined the 
League over a year ago, and recently wrote a beau- 
tiful letter telling of the help it had been in her 
daily life. She said : 

"No one thing has ever made a greater differ- 
ence in my life. Last month I finished reading 
through the New Testament and the Psalms. Now 
I am reading right through again. And when I 
have finished I will start over again. The reading 
keeps me familiar with Holy Writ, and the carry- 
ing the little volume does a great deal to keep me 
on the straight and narrow way. It is a good 
talisman. The little Testament is now worn with 
being carried and read. Ever since I joined it has 
traveled about with me in my hand bag. Wher- 
ever I go the Testament goes. Except when some 
extraordinary thing has come up, I have never 
missed a day in reading a chapter. Before this I 
was supposed to read a portion of the Scripture 
every night. But like lots of other things that you 
do not set down in black and white, I did not do it. 
My eyes hurt me; I was too sleepy, or a hundred 
and one other excuses came up. But now I read 
as regularly as I eat my breakfast, and more 
regularly." 

Business men as well as others find the League a 
great blessing. One day in New York City Dr. 
Chapman gave a little Testament to one of the man- 



The Pocket Testament League. 29 

agers of a big mercantile establishment on Broad- 
way. A few months later he told Dr. Chapman 
that the reading and carrying of the little Testa- 
ment had been one of the most helpful things that 
had ever come into his life. 

The movement is ideally adapted to Sunday 
Schools. Boys and girls become as enthusiastic as 
older people over the plan. In a few weeks one 
Sunday School in Brooklyn enrolled about 250 
members for the League. A Brooklyn Sunday 
School teacher became so enthusiastic that she 
talked about the movement wherever she went, and 
in less than a year and a half she secured over 700 
members. In the United States the movement has 
been especially promoted by the Evangelistic Com- 
mittee of the Presbyterian Church, under the direc- 
tion of Dr. Chapman and the other members of 
the Committee, and through the untiring efforts of 
Dr. Parley E. Zartmann. Through the persistent 
advocacy of this Committee the influence of the 
League has been extended throughout the length 
and breadth of the land. 

In all the United States, however, there is per- 
haps no more interesting member than a little 
woman in Bridgeport, Connecticut. She is Miss 
Fanny Crosby, the hymn-writer whose name is a 
household word throughout the entire world. She 
is over ninety years of age, and blind. She gladly 
joined the Pocket Testament League. A friend 



30 The Pocket Testament League. 

made a pocket in her dress so that she could always 
carry her Testament about with her. In a recent 
letter Miss Crosby, who is as young in spirit as a 
girl, says: "When going out I explain what 
the League means. I know it has been a great 
blessing to others as well as to myself. God speed 
it on its glorious mission is my earnest prayer." 

In Canada as well as in the United States, the 
League quickly found favor. During the Chapman- 
Alexander Mission in Orillia, a large proportion of 
the population joined the League. One boy secured 
500 members in a short period. Probably the most 
ardent advocate of the movement in Canada is the 
well-known minster and author, Dr. Charles W. 
Gordon, of Winnipeg, who, as Ralph Connor, is 
known all over the world through his thrilling 
books of religious fiction. Dr. Gordon was cooper- 
ating in the Philadelphia Mission of Dr. Chapman 
and Mr. Alexander when the League was launched, 
and he immediately became an enthusiast over its 
possibilities in Christian service. He stated that he 
considered it the best method of personal work he 
he had ever seen. Later, he wrote saying that he 
thought it the best method of promoting the study 
of God's Word. He purchased 4,000 illustrated 
Testaments for use in personal work, and in pro- 
moting the League in Canada. 

For travelers the League offers an ideal method 
of personal work. When setting out from New 
York to accompany Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alex- 



The Pocket Testament League. 31 

ander on their journey to Australia, the writer 
thought it would be interesting and helpful to see 
how many railway men would join the League dur- 
ing the long railway journey through the United 
States and Canada to Vancouver. Everywhere 
along the way they were most responsive. Singly 
and in little groups they eagerly enlisted when the 
plan was explained. At one point in the journey 
the engineer and fireman of the trans-continental 
train both joined, and were so pleased that they 
gave the writer a ride on the engine. When Van- 
couver was reached it was found that a total of one 
hundred and seven members had been secured, in- 
cluding ten conductors and five engineers. 

In thus giving away God's Word when traveling 
one meets with most interesting experiences. On 
one occasion the conductor of a New York Central 
train joined the League, and I found that years ago 
he had been a member of Dr. Chapman's church 
in Albany. About a year later, when in the Orient, 
I received the following letter: 

"It affords me the greatest pleasure to recall the 
little incident that happened on the train coming 
east between Syracuse and Albany just one year 
ago today. I have read the Testament thoroughly, 
and like it very much. At the time you gave me 
the Testament you said you would be glad to hear 
from me one year later. You see I have kept my 
word. * * * ." 



CHAPTER IV. 
SPREADING THE WORD IN AUSTRALIA. 

"Holding forth the Word of Life. 9 ' Phil 2, 16. 

The Pocket Testament League was introduced 
into Australia during the visit of the Chapman- 
Alexander Mission Party to the Commonwealth in 
the spring and summer of 1909. The idea seemed 
to take the country by storm. The movement 
spread like wildfire throughout Melbourne, Syd- 
ney, Brisbane, Adelaide and other cities. Ministers 
and Christian workers of all denominations hailed 
the plan as the very thing that had been needed 
to build up Christians in the faith and win the 
unsaved to Christ. Some idea of the sweep of 
the movement may be gained from the fact 
that before the Mission party went to Australia 
35,000 special League Testaments were shipped 
from London to Melbourne. Within a few weeks 
these had been exhausted, and orders cabled to 
London for 40,000 more, to endeavour to cope with 
the increasing demand. 

A few days after reaching Melbourne I went into 
a book store and asked about the sale of New Testa- 
ments. The bookseller replied that it was about 
the poorest selling stock they had in the shop, for 

32 



The Pocket Testament League. 33 

there was scarcely any demand in those days for 
New Testaments. Yet before the close of the Chap- 
man-Alexander Mission in Melbourne so great was 
the interest created in reading and carrying God's 
Word that 14,000 League Testaments alone were 
sold and distributed, in addition to large numbers 
of other Bibles and Testaments of all sorts. It was 
in Australia that a new phase of the work was in- 
augurated. It consisted in the establishing in each 
church of a local secretary to promote the move- 
ment among the members of the congregation, the 
young people's societies, and other organizations, 
and in the Sunday School. 

Probably the most signal victory of the League 
in the city of Melbourne was in connection with the 
tramway men. A number of them having joined 
the League through personal invitation, it was sug- 
gested that a meeting for tramway men and police- 
men be held at the Y. M. C. A. An enthusiastic 
gathering was held, and most of the tramway men 
present joined the League. Mr. J. A. Caffin, one 
of the district superintendents of the tramway com- 
pany, consented to act as general secretary, and the 
movement grew by leaps and bounds. Later on a 
unique rule was adopted. It was agreed that if any 
one of a group of men was found without his 
Testament, whether on or off duty, he would have 
to pay a fine sufficient to buy another Testament 
to give away. Through the untiring energy of Mr. 
Caffin and the members themselves, in a short time 



34 The Pocket Testament League. 

300 League members were enrolled among the tram- 
way men of Melbourne. 

The most interesting member of the League in 
Melbourne is Miss H. R. Higgens, an invalid woman 
whose name is known and loved in many lands. 
Although she is a great sufferer her room is always 
full of sunshine. Indeed, she is known as the "Sun- 
shine invalid." For ten years Miss Higgens has 
not left her room. One after another both arms 
and both limbs have had to be amputated, and her 
helpless condition may thus be easily realized. Upon 
the stump of one arm, however, Miss Higgens has 
had an arrangement made capable of holding and 
manipulating a fountain pen, with which she writes 
Scripture verses and beautiful letters. Some time 
ago she also lost her voice; so that now she can 
only speak to people by writing or pointing to the 
letters of the alphabet, which are printed on a board 
before her somewhat like the keyboard of a type- 
writer. 

Miss Higgens became an enthusiastic member of 
the Pocket Testament League, but was not satisfied 
with joining herself. Although she has lost her 
voice and all her limbs she set to work to get others 
to join, and has thus far secured over a hundred 
members. In a recent letter she said : 

"I was very pleased to hear fom you, and to 
hear of the good work done. There hath not failed 
one word of all His good promises ! God IS love/ 
You prove this as you travel and work, and I prove 




A Birmingham messenger boy showing Mr. Charles M. Alexander 
his Testament after delivering a telegram. 



WSBBtM 


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The Pocket Testament League. 35 

it as I lie on my couch, day after day and year 
after year, and we both thank our dear Heavenly 
Father and Lord, and praise Him for all His love 
and care. I have got one hundred and six members 
to join, and encouraged a few to try and get mem- 
bers. I have not sold very many Testaments, but 
have given a good many to those who could not 
get them. God has supplied all my need in such 
loving ways, and although I am suffering much I 
can truly say I am happy, and my blessings are in- 
numerable. Please give my love to your mother and 
any members of the Mission party you may see. 
I remember all in prayer. With kindest regards, 
"Your Friend, H. R. Higgens." 

Joshua i, 5: Nahum 1, 7. 

Probably the most energetic member in Mel- 
bourne was a returned missionary from India, fa- 
miliarly known as "Little Mother." She recognized 
the League at once as a most effective method of 
soul-winning, and devoted herself night and day 
to promoting it throughout the length and breadth 
of the city. She procured a neat little basket in 
which she carried a number of Testaments, and 
on the streets and everywhere secured members 
among clergymen, tramway men, newsboys, work- 
ing girls and people of all classes and conditions 
To some she sold Testaments, to others she gave 
them away. Although a frail and delicate woman, 



36 The Pocket Testament League. 

in a few weeks she disposed of a thousand Testa- 
ments. 

In Sydney the League was received as enthusiasti- 
cally as in Melbourne. About twenty thousand 
League cards were distributed, and thousands of 
New Testaments came into use during the period 
of the Chapman-Alexander Mission. The move- 
ment appealed to all classes and all ages. All the 
policemen in one station joined the League. One 
Sunday morning at Central Mission Hall thirty-one 
out of thirty-six blue-jackets from three warships 
in the harbour declared they would join the League 
by reading a chapter a day and carrying a Testa- 
ment with them. In a warehouse where there were 
three hundred and fifty employes, more than two 
hundred and fifty of them were enrolled. 

As was the case in Melbourne, no class of men 
in Sydney joined the League with greater enthusi- 
asm than the tramcar men. One morning Dr. Chap- 
man and Mr. Alexander conducted a special serv- 
ice for tramway men at the Y. M. C. A. Between 
four hundred and five hundred were in attendance. 
Mr. Alexander began the meeting by throwing out 
into the audience scores of hymnbooks, revival ad- 
dresses by Dr. Chapman, and other literature, which 
the men scrambled for with great merriment. But 
a few moments later the scene quickly changed, and 
under Mr. Alexander's magic touch the men w T ere 
earnestly singing of Christ's redeeming grace. With 
great power Dr. Chapman spoke to them of the 



The Pocket Testament League. 37 

awful effects of sin, and then of the love of God. 
When he gave the appeal over one hundred men 
marched to the front to confess Christ as their 
Saviour. It was such a thrilling sight to see the 
men stream boldly to the front of the building to 
publicly confess their faith that their comrades broke 
into vigorous applause, and when the wonderful 
scene was concluded they gave them three rousing 
cheers. It was in many respects the most dramatic 
and soul-stirring scene of the entire Mission. 

Just before the service concluded the Pocket 
Testament League was briefly explained to the tram- 
car men. Over two hundred of them then and there 
joined the League, agreeing to read a chapter each 
day and carry a Testament about with them wher- 
ever they went. Each man was presented with a 
small Testament, and a photograph was taken show- 
ing the men holding their Testaments in their hands. 

There are today in Sydney about three hundred 
tramway men who are members of the League. 
Eighteen local secretaries have been appointed at 
the various car barns to promote the movement 
among the men. One of the local secretaries is a 
depot master, who has five hundred men under his 
control. Weekly Gospel services are held at the 
Y. M. C. A., and at one of these the address was 
given by Mr. T. R. Johnstone, Chief Commissioner 
of Railways and Tramways for New South Wales, 
who has under his direction more than fifteen thou- 
sand men. He gladly joined the League, thus set- 



38 The Pocket Testament League. 

ting a splendid example for the railway and tram- 
way men throughout New South Wales. 

The general secretary of the Tramway Men's 
Branch of the League in Sydney is Mr. C. B. Har- 
riott, a motorman, who, from the beginning, took 
a keen interest in the work. Previous to the tram- 
way men's meeting conducted by Dr. Chapman and 
Mr. Alexander, he had enlisted about seventy of 
his associates by direct personal effort. 

Some of the most interesting members of the 
League in the Sydney district were a group of 
Australian aborigines, living in an encampment at 
La Perouse, just outside the city. There were about 
seventy or eighty natives in the encampment, and 
fully one-third of them found Christ during the 
month of the Chapman- Alexander Mission in Syd- 
ney. Nearly half of the converts among the aborig- 
ines were strong men, a number of whom had 
formerly been vicious gamblers. The missionary in 
charge declared that the change in them was so 
wonderful that it seemed like a dream. Although 
it is asserted that the Australian aborigine occupies 
the lowest position in point of intelligence among 
the races of mankind, yet these men seemed to be 
as intelligent as some of the American Indians. 
One morning when I visited the encampment they 
were greatly interested in the Pocket Testament 
League, and more than a score of them became 
members. 

During the mission in Adelaide it was my privi- 



The Pocket Testament League. 39 

lege one morning to address the prisoners in the 
Yatala Labor Prison. A considerable number of 
the men enlisted. Eight months later I received 
from one of them the following letter: 

"You will probably remember when you visited 
this prison I was one of the men who stood up and 
declared their determination to serve Jesus. I am 
still sticking to the faith and trying to keep my 
promise. I am doing a long sentence, fifteen years. 
It is a hard struggle at times to keep believing. I 
sincerely hope that your mission is still prospering, 
and will continue to do so, and that wherever you 
go you will not forget the poor prisoners in the 
gaols, because I think they need your help and pray- 
ers more than others. I do hope sincerely that I 
shall meet you again, both in this world and in the 
world to come. And my earnest prayer is our 
farewell hymn at your visit here, 'God be with you 
till we meet again.' " 

A few months after the Mission in Adelaide con- 
cluded, Mr. R. H. White, who became president 
of the Pocket Testament League for South Aus- 
tralia, and who is manager of one of the largest 
manufacturing establishments in that State, pre- 
sented a copy of the New Testament to each of his 
employees, thus setting an inspiring example to 
other employers throughout the world. 

During the Chapman-Alexander Missions in 
Brisbane, Adelaide and Ballarat great numbers of 
boys joined the League. Recently I received the 



40 The Pocket Testament League. 

following letter from one of the pastors residing 
near the city: 

"Since you were with us a group of New Testa- 
ment League boys have gathered here every Friday 
evening for the study of the Word and for prayer. 
There is nothing formal in our gathering ; the boys 
are at home, and I am able to speak to them in a 
conversational way, eliciting questions and answers. 
They are all loyal to the vow they took and read 
their New Testament every day. The League 
spreads. I was away in the Western district of Vic- 
toria on Sunday last, and was pleased to learn that 
several have joined there. I had an opportunity 
to advocate it, for which I felt grateful." 

One boy in Ballarat sat down and wrote half a 
dozen letters to his friends, urging them to join 
the League. He at length succeeded in inducing his 
aunt and five cousins to enlist. 

For a year following the Chapman-Alexander 
Mission in Australia, two of the Mission party, the 
Rev. W. P. Nicholson and Mr. J. Raymond Hem- 
minger, remained in the Commonwealth conducting 
missions throughout the country. Wherever they 
went they vigorously promoted the League. During 
their stay in Geelong large numbers were enrolled, 
and Mr. Rupert Lowe, formerly Mr. Alexander's 
secretary, became responsible for the movement in 
that city. Through the zeal of a Christian young 
lady who worked in a large factory, a number of 
the factory girls were led to join the League. The 



The Pocket Testament League. 41 

plan seemed to appeal strongly even to those who 
were not Christians. 

At Bendigo, the native city of Mr. Robert Hark- 
ness, the pianist of the Mission Party, a strong 
branch of the League was formed. Energetic offi- 
cers were appointed, and the movement was quickly 
established in thirty Sunday Schools. In this city 
a new feature was introduced in the form of a 
monthly meeting for the League members through- 
out the district. At the first of these gatherings 
there was a fine attendance, and an address was 
delivered on the value of God's Word by the Rev. 
John Darroch. In describing this meeting and the 
work in Bendigo, the "Southern Cross," an Aus- 
tralian religious paper, which has actively promoted 
the League, said : 

"The Mission choir kindly attended and lent valu- 
able aid. A program of musical and other items 
was gone through, a number of Alexander's hymns 
that had become popular during the Mission were 
sung, and the objects of the Pocket Testament 
League were explained. It was a bright, successful 
meeting. So far organizing has taken work mainly 
in the Sunday Schools and in Christian Endeavour 
Societies, but the Committee has a more ambitious 
scheme afoot for working the State schools. The 
Director of Education has given permission for rep- 
resentatives of the League to work in conjunction 
with a voluntary Scripture instructor. Already in 
the Specimen Hill school there are between eighty 



42 The Pocket Testament League. 

and one hundred scholars who carry the Word of 
God and read it daily." 

The League is making splendid progress through- 
out the Commonwealth, • and six months after the 
first member was secured Miss Ada M. Shum, the 
enthusiastic general secretary for Australia, com- 
piled the following extracts from letters she had 
received : 

"I wish I could reproduce the letters that come 
from local secretaries of the League, and from 
members new and old. They make wonderfully 
interesting reading, and bear abundant testimony 
to the lasting value of the movement. Almost every 
post brings some news of new members, some story 
of some one who has found help and blessing 
through the daily study of his Testament or some 
query from one who wishes to join the ranks. News 
of the League penetrated to the farthest corner of 
Australia and New Zealand, and queries are con- 
stantly arising from all sorts of unexpected places 
and out-of-the-way places — places that, though the 
writer has lived all her life in Australia, she did 
not know were on the map. 

"In both Sydney and Melbourne the tramway 
men's Branches of the League are flourishing, and 
the honorary secretary of the Melbourne Branch — a 
most business-like concern — writes the following 
note: 'The tramway section of the Pocket Testa- 
ment League was formed on May 23rd, 1909, at 
a service for tramway men and policemen held at 




Australian aborigines who became enthusiastic members of the 

League. 




A few of the 300 Tramway men of Melbourne, Australia, who 
agreed to read and carry God's Word. 




3 
M 

c 
c 

03 

s 






o _ 

fe pi 

•§& 

03 S 

oS 

<U O 



JO'S 
Qi 

•a 

c 

X 



ft 
O 

Q 



The Pocket Testament League. 43 

the Y. M. C. A. rooms. Forty-one men joined. 
Today there are nearly three hundred members. 
Many men have decided to live for Christ since 
the introduction of this blessed work. Others have 
given up habits of drinking and smoking and the 
use of bad language since joining the League. One 
man who was converted through reading a little 
Pocket Testament is saving on the average eight 
shillings per week, which used to be spent on drink- 
ing and gambling. A good weekly meeting has 
been formed in connection with the League, which is 
held at the tramway hall in the head office of the 
company, the free use of which and lighting has 
been kindly granted us. At some of the branches 
in the service interest has been created by members 
of the League challenging each other to produce 
the Testament, failure for which involves a fine 
of sixpence, which is paid into a fund to buy other 
copies, and so extend the League. So far we have 
had only one fine. We are placing a free-will offer- 
ing box in the hall where our weekly meetings 
are held, so as to provide funds to purchase other 
Testaments. J. A. Caffin, Honorary Secretary.' 

"In Ballarat under the energetic oversight of Mr. 
R. Tribe, Secretary of the Y. M. C. A., the League 
has grown apace, and more than a thousand Ballarat 
people have been enrolled. Mr. Tribe tells of a 
meeting of two hundred boys at which he was 
present the other day. He asked how many of 
them belonged to the League, and at once a hun- 



44 The Pocket Testament League. 

dred and ninety-six boys produced their Testaments 
and held them aloft. 

"It is impossible to quote a fraction of the inter- 
esting letters received, but this note from Miss An- 
nie Balfour must be included: 'What has struck 
me most in connection with the Pocket Testament 
League has been the willingness, and in many cases 
eagerness, with which people of all ages and classes 
joined, and promised to carry out the two condi- 
tions of reading and carrying the Word of God/ 

" 'One man whom I asked to join, thinking he 
was not particularly interested in such things, sur- 
prised me by agreeing at once and saying, "Oh yes, 
I will join that. My mother always carried a Testa- 
ment about with her." Two months afterwards I 
asked him how he was getting on with it, and he 
said : "Why, I wouldn't miss my chapter for any- 
thing. I tackle it first thing in the morning, and it 
helps me." 

" Tn one factory forty girls have joined, and they 
say after a fortnight's trial that it has already 
helped them. A young men's Bible Class took it 
up enthusiastically. In the church of which I am 
secretary for the League, about a hundred and 
twenty have joined, and one girl who works in a 
dress-making establishment has induced sixteen of 
her companions in the same business to join, and 
they in turn are getting their brothers to become 
members. 

{ A country minister to whom I gave a pictorial 



a < 



The Pocket Testament League. 45 

Testament wrote me a few weeks afterwards, say- 
ing that the little Testament had gained sixteen 
others for the League. Immediately after the Chap- 
man-Alexander Mission had closed in Ballarat I 
was asked to start the League in the Ballarat or- 
phanage. Seventy-six children over ten years of 
age joined, and they picked up the chorus of "Carry 
Your Bible With You" more quickly than I have 
known anywhere else. The matron told us that 
it would have done our hearts good to hear them 
next morning at half -past six making the corridors 
ring with that hymn and others we taught them. 
One little boy of eleven who joined through a friend 
of mine, says he does not stop at one chapter, but 
gets so interested that he often reads three or 
four/ " 

In the South Sea Islands the movement has found 
the same favour as elsewhere. The names of sixty 
members have recently been received from Pentecost 
Island, one of the New Hebrides group. The names 
of some of these far-distant members are an inter- 
esting combination of Scriptural and native termin- 
ology. Some of them are Luke Tabyvaroo, Johnny 
Mileivo, Moses Tomasses, Martha Tabyrook, Sarah 
Monysungwool, Paul Mulatto, Timothy Tabycame 
and Thomas Tumtum. 

There are also members in the Fiji and Samoan 
Islands; the wife of the mayor of Thursday Island 
became secretary for the movement in that com- 



46 The Pocket Testament League. 

munity; and thus the Pocket Testament League is 
daily spreading throughout the lands of the South- 
ern Gross. 



CHAPTER V. 
SOWING THE SEED IN THE ORIENT. 

"So shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it 
shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which 
I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it,' 9 

Isaiah 55, 11. 

One of the most interesting and significant feat- 
ures of the movement for reading and carrying 
God's Word is the fact that the League arouses the 
same enthusiasm in China, Japan and Korea as in 
Western countries. 

It was during the tour of the Chapman- Alexander 
party through the Orient, following their work in 
Australia, that the League was established in a num- 
ber of countries of the Far East. The party included 
Dr. J, Wilbur Chapman, his daughter Agnes and 
his son Hamilton; Mr. and Mrs. Charles M. Alex- 
ander and Mrs. Alexander's sister, Miss Cadbury; 
Dr. Ford C. Ottman, Mr. Robert Harkness, Mr. 
and Mrs. R. C. Norton, Mr. and Mrs. William 
Asher, Miss Bertha Breckenridge, Mr. Norman 
Thomas, and the writer and his mother, Mrs. E. 
A. R. Davis. 

The steamer on which the journey to Hong Kong 

47 



48 The Pocket Testament League. 

was made was the "Kumano Maru" of the Nippon 
Yusen Kaisha line. The officers and crew, with 
the exception of the captain, were Japanese. The 
work of the League began on the steamer before 
we left the Australian coast. Gospels and Testa- 
ments in Japanese had been procured at Brisbane. 
The Gospels were given out freely to the Japanese 
crew, while the Testaments were given those who 
would agree to join the League by reading a chap- 
ter daily and carrying the little book about with 
them wherever they went. 

During the journey from Sydney to Hong Kong 
forty of the passengers and crew were enrolled as 
members of the League, thirty-three of them being 
Japanese. Among the officers who joined were 
the captain, the first officer, the purser, the doctor, 
and the first, second and third engineers. 

The most interesting of the Japanese who joined 
the League was Nakai, the ship's barber. He was 
greatly delighted with the gift of the Testament, 
and spent hours daily reading it. He was the 
happiest member of the crew, and had the broadest 
smile I have ever seen on a Japanese countenance. 
Each day he could be seen with a Testament stick- 
ing out of one pocket and a Gospel out of another. 
The morning we reached Hong Kong he told me 
with face all aglow that he had read the entire 
New Testament, and as nearly as I could gather 
from his broken English, he seemed to have defin- 
itely accepted Christ as his personal Saviour. Eight 



The Pocket Testament League. 49 

months later he sent the following interesting letter 
from Seattle, Washington, U. S. A. : 

"Dear Sir: How are you getting your health 
in this climate? Excuse me that I was so idle to 
send you some letter very often. Because I cannot 
write English well as another man. Now I am 
quite well as before as you know, and I must thank 
you that you was so kind when you ride on 'Ku- 
mano Maru.' I could not forget about your kind- 
ness after separate you. I changed my steamer to 
the s. s. 'Awa Maru.' If you so kind please send 
me your kind letter to here after now. Then I am 
very happy. Now I shall stop my short letter here. 
I shall send you very often every time. Would you 
kind please send my love to your friends. Good- 
bye, yours sincerely friend, Nakai, Barber." 

The party only stopped for one day at the Philip- 
pine Islands, but it was a day full of power and 
blessing. A committee in Manilla with Rev. George 
William Wright, president of Ellin wood Theologi- 
cal Seminary, as chairman, had arranged a series 
of meetings for missionaries, students, business 
men, soldiers and the general public, throughout the 
day. We were driven rapidly from one meeting- 
place to another in automobiles. The League was 
presented over and over again, and was heartily 
received. Its permanence in the islands was insured 
through Mr. Wright agreeing to act as general sec- 
retary for the movement. 

At Hong Kong the League was presented at a 



50 The Pocket Testament League. 

meeting conducted by Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alex- 
ander in the Theatre Royal. Among those who en- 
listed were a number of the missionaries who wished 
to act as secretaries in their mission stations ; some 
soldiers from the Hong Kong barracks, and the com- 
mander of a gunboat in the harbor, who not only 
enlisted himself, but said that he would gladly pro- 
mote the movement among his men. 

One of the soldiers who joined the League that 
night had only recently become a Christian. He 
wished to make his life count for God in China, and 
felt the League presented the best form of service 
he could render to his Master. He wrote to the 
headquarters in Australia to secure further informa- 
tion and League Cards, and set to work. Some 
months later he sent to the Australian headquarters 
a glowing account of the progress of the movement 
among the soldiers. 

"We have now a hundred and nine members in 
this battalion, and a hundred and eighty-six out- 
side, making altogether two hundred and ninety- 
five, which I think is a good lot for the short time 
since we started the League. We are able to get 
Testaments from the British and Foreign Bible So- 
ciety, and every member has one. We hold a meet- 
ing twice a week in the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, 
and a good many who do not belong to the League 
attend the meetings. My friend and I got permis- 
sion from the Colonel for the use of the gymnasium 
hall in our barracks for other meetings. He asked 




o 
O 

o 
•a 

•a 



d 

0) 

03 



60 

•rH 




Chinese firemen with their Testaments on the top of the water 

tower at Hankow. 




Mr. Ralph C. Norton giving Testaments to Chinese soldiers from 
the train en route Hankow to Peking. 



The Pocket Testament League. 51 

what we wanted it for, and when we told him he 
said we might have it, and he also joined the 
League. Several more of the officers have joined 
also and attend our meetings. I thank God because 
He has so helped us in our work. What a blessing 
it would be if all the people in the world would 
read the Bible as they ought to do ! Crime would 
be swept away pretty soon. We thank God for 
all His help. My text for today is Acts 22, 15. 
Tor thou shalt be His witness unto all men of 
what thou hast seen and heard/ And that is what 
we are trying to do today, witnessing for God to 
let others see what God has done for us, and what 
He can do for them. Please give our best regards 
to all members of the League, Yours truly, W. J. 
Bennett/' 

From Hong Kong the members of the mission 
party made a brief visit down the river to Canton, 
where meetings had been arranged for the Chinese 
and for missionaries. Here also keen interest was 
aroused. Since our visit the League has been vig- 
orously promoted throughout South China by the 
agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 
Canton, Mr. H. O. T. Burkwall. Through Mr. 
Burkwall's efforts the Chinese are being urged not 
simply to read and carry God's Word, but to pur- 
chase large numbers of Gospels to give to their un- 
saved friends as a method of leading them to a 
knowledge of the Truth. 

In Shanghai extensive preparations had been 



52 The Pocket Testament League. 

made for the coming of the Chapman-Alexander 
party. During our ten days' stay in the city no 
less than fifty meetings were held for the mission- 
aries and for the Chinese. It was at one of the 
meetings for the Chinese one Sunday afternoon at 
the Martyrs' Memorial Hall that there occurred 
one of the most thrilling scenes of the tour through 
the Orient. The meeting was exclusively for Chi- 
nese young men, and the hall was packed with seven 
hundred sturdy and intelligent men, large numbers 
of them being students. God's Spirit was present 
in great power. Under Mr. Alexander's leadership 
they sang the Gospel hymns with great vigor, and 
listened with the closest attention to Dr. Chapman's 
searching address on "The Wind and the Whirl- 
wind." When Dr. Chapman appealed to those who 
would forsake sin and definitely accept Christ as 
their Saviour to come forward, a wonderful scene 
followed. From all parts of the hall young men 
arose and pressed their way to the front, filling the 
aisle for a considerable distance. The evangelist 
called upon those who were yielding their lives to 
God to kneel down, and fifty-three men, old and 
young, knelt in public acknowledgment of their ac- 
ceptance of Christ. When Dr. Chapman further 
called upon those who were confessing their faith 
to say the two words "I will" in their own tongue, 
the response which arose was the most thrilling 
sound I heard during the journey through China. 
Before the meeting closed each of these men joined 



The Pocket Testament League. 53 

the Pocket Testament League, and later were pre- 
sented with copies of the New Testament. 

Before the Chapman-Alexander party left the city 
a committee of missionaries and Chinese was ap- 
pointed to promote the movement throughout the 
Chinese empire. 

Nowhere in China did the League arouse greater 
enthusiasm than in the university city of Nanking. 
Rev. A. E. Cory, Secretary of the Centenary Con- 
ference Committee for the promotion of Bible study 
throughout the Chinese empire, became deeply im- 
pressed with the possibilities of the movement for 
quickening interest in the Word of God and for 
soul winning throughout China. Mr. F. C. Brock- 
man, General Secretary of the Y. M. C. A., also 
felt that the movement was just the one needed by 
the young men of China. Mr. Cory and Mr. Brock- 
man accompanied the Mission party for some dis- 
tance down the Yangtse river to discuss the move- 
ment with relation to China, and Mr. Cory finally 
consented to act as general secretary for the League 
throughout the empire. Since then Mr. Cory and 
the Conference Committee have been vigorously 
promoting the movement, which has met with the 
approval of the missionaries everywhere. 

In an article in the Chinese "Recorder/' a maga- 
zine published in Shanghai for the missionaries 
throughout China, Mr. Cory says : "There must be 
an awakening on the part of the Chinese Church 
to its great need. It needs the Bible — it needs to 



54 The Pocket Testament League. 

know God's Word. In order to know it the Church 
must read the Bible and study it. There are many 
ways in which this can be accomplished, but there 
is one way which has come to the attention of the 
writer, and which is rapidly spreading in certain 
portions of China. The Pocket Testament League 
has a simple pledge : 

" T hereby accept membership in the Pocket Tes- 
tament League by making it the rule of my life to 
read at least one chapter in the Bible each day, and 
to carry a Testament or Bible with me wherever 
I go/ 

"You will notice the pledge says, T will make 
it the rule of my life/ The pledge has been care- 
fully worded, and it covers two very essential points : 

"(i) Always having a Testament with you. 

"(2) Reading at least one chapter every day. 

"It will be seen at a glance that two tremendous 
points are covered. First, that every individual 
Christian when he has a Bible with him will use it. 
This will mean the advancement of personal work, 
one of the greatest needs of China. The second is 
that they will read it. The pledge is definitely to 
that end, and thereby the great need of the Church 
will be covered. 

"Committees have been appointed and plans will 
be formulated for a wide-spread campaign through- 
out China. One of the great things about this 
movement is that it has received the unanimous ap- 
proval of the Chinese wherever it has been presented. 



The Pocket Testament League. 55 

It reaches the membership of the Church, it gives 
them a knowledge of the Bible, it is one of the 
simplest and surest ways of ensuring that the en- 
quirer is trained in the right way, and starts right 
in his relationship to his Bible. It is the opening 
wedge to the non-Christians with whom you con- 
verse. At the present time the Church should pray 
that there will be a wide-spread movement in China 
as in Korea and other lands whereby China may be- 
come a land of one book, and that book the Bible." 

Throughout the tour both in Australia and 
through the Orient, no member of the Mission party 
was more enthusiastic in the promotion of the 
League than Mr. Ralph C. Norton. Before leaving 
America his friends provided him with a fund, so 
that he might leave a trail of Testaments and Gos- 
pels 30,000 miles long throughout the journey. On 
railway trains, on steamers, on the streets, in places 
of business, as well as in the meetings, he was in- 
defatigable in his efforts to promote the reading and 
carrying of God's Word. 

In China during the railway journey from Han- 
kow to Peking he met the Inspector General of the 
railroad, who was not a Christian, but through Mr. 
Norton's straightforward presentation of the plan 
he was led to link himself with the League. He 
was one of a host who were led to join the League 
through Mr. Norton. 

In Peking the League found a ready response 
among all classes. One morning President H. H. 



56 The Pocket Testament League. 

Lowry, of the Peking University, arranged for the 
presentation of the League to the students; Mr. 
Alexander taught them the League hymn, "Carry 
Your Bible"; Mrs. Alexander told how the plan 
had been originated, and when an opportunity was 
given to the students to join, almost all who were 
present readily enlisted. Following our departure 
from the city, the League was vigorously promoted 
throughout Northern China by Mr. Cheng Ching-yi, 
who made one of the most brilliant seven-minute 
addresses at the recent World-Missionary Confer- 
ence at Edinburgh, and was appointed a member 
of the Continuation Committee of the Conference. 

The last place where the League was presented in 
China was in some respects the most interesting. 
It was to the scholars in the China Inland Mission 
School for missionaries' children at Chefoo. Under 
Mr. Alexander's direction the children quickly 
learned the League hymn, and Mrs. Alexander and 
others explained the aim and objects of the move- 
ment. There were nearly three hundred children 
present, who came from homes, not only in China 
but in other Eastern lands. Practically everyone 
who was present, including a number of mission- 
aries, signified their desire to read and carry God's 
Word daily, and later on some special Testaments 
were sent to the children. Letters have since been 
received from the Principal of the school telling how 
delighted the children were at receiving their gifts. 

Since our departure the movement has made rapid 



The Pocket Testament League. 57 

progress in China. One of the promoters in Shang- 
hai wrote that it was "spreading like wildfire." 
Its simple conditions of membership, and its uni- 
versal appeal, will doubtless make it in the years to 
come an effective agency in the evangelization of 
that great empire. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CARRYING THE WORD IN KOREA AND 

JAPAN. 

"For the Word of God is quick' and powerful, and sharper 
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asun- 
der of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a 
discerner) of the thoughts and intents of the heart." 

Hebrews 4, 12. 

In Korea and Japan as in China the League 
found instant favor. From Chefoo the Chapman- 
Alexander mission party went by the Japanese 
steamer "Sagami Maru" to Shimonoseki, en route 
to Korea. On this steamer the power of God's 
Word was demonstrated in a beautiful manner. One 
day the Japanese purser accepted a little New Testa- 
ment, agreeing to meet the conditions involved. 
Early one morning a day of two later he sat down 
in the dining saloon to have a chat. I quickly dis- 
covered that he was hungering for a knowledge 
of Christ as his personal Saviour. John I: 12, 
was quoted, showing how it is by a simple act of 
the will that we receive Christ, and thus have 
power to become the sons of God. Then referring 
to Romans 9 and 10, I showed how, according to 
God's plan, it is necessary, not only to believe in the 

58 




Nearly 1,000 Academy and College students in Pyeng Yang, Korea. 

When asked to show their Testaments nearly every 

student held one aloft. 




Young women at Pyeng Yang, Korea, who carry their Testaments 
and hymn books tied round their waist. 



The Pocket Testament League. 59 

heart, but to confess with the mouth the Lord 
Jesus as a personal Saviour. I also gave him Romans 
10 : 13, showing that having received and confessed 
Christ it is necessary to call upon Him in prayer, 
and receive forgiveness for every sin. The purser 
eagerly drank in the words, and in a few moments 
bowed his head upon the dining saloon table and 
prayed, telling God how he had been seeking the 
light for years, but that morning he definitely ac- 
cepted Christ as his personal Saviour. My own 
heart was full of joy over his decision, but I was 
yet more rejoiced at what quickly followed. A few 
hours later the purser returned saying another man 
wished to see me. He led me to the room of one of 
the ship's officers. I found that the purser had been 
telling him how he had become a Christian, and 
urging him to do the same. The officer readily 
joined the Pocket Testament League, and in a few 
moments was on his knees giving his life to God. 

In Seoul, the capital of Korea, missionaries had 
gathered from all parts of the country to attend the 
meetings. For five days there, and later in other 
cities, conferences were held which the missionaries 
declared were a source of untold blessing and 
inspiration. 

Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alexander and all their 
party were greatly astonished at the work of grace 
they found in progress in Korea. It was a great 
joy to learn that in twenty-five years a hundred 
thousand converts had been won, and that a Chris* 



60 The Pocket Testament League. 

tian constituency of a quarter of a million had been 
established. But the party were yet more surprised 
when they learned that a few hours before their ar- 
rival in Seoul the General Council of missionaries 
representing the evangelical churches working in 
Korea had unanimously agreed to pray and work 
for a million believers during the ensuing year. 

The missionaries were so impressed with the value 
of the Pocket Testament League that a special meet- 
ing of the General Council was called before the 
close of the Chapman- Alexander visit, at which the 
League was formally adopted as one of the effective 
agencies to be used in the efforts to win Korea for 
Christ. After some discussion they also endorsed 
the plan of giving God's Word to the unsaved in 
order to win them to Christ. Before this in Korea 
the free distribution of Gospels and Testaments 
by missionaries had been discouraged. But the sug- 
gestion that the Korean Christians themselves should 
give away Gospels individually to their unsaved 
friends, with an appeal to become Christians, was 
heartily accepted. 

In Korea the missionaries work on a large scale. 
The Bible Society Committee of the General Coun- 
cil at once sent an order to Yokohama for a special 
edition of three hundred thousand copies of St. 
Mark's Gospel of convenient pocket size, to be sold 
at one sen each (one-half cent American, or J4d. 
English currency) . 

Mr. Hugh Miller, agent of the British and For- 



The Pocket Testament League. 61 

eign Bible Society in Seoul, was appointed secretary 
of the Pocket Testament League in Korea by the 
General Council. With the assistance of the Bible 
Society's committee, which included the well-known 
missionaries, Dr. James S. Gale, Dr. Horace G. 
Underwood and Rev. D. A. Bunker, Mr. Miller con- 
ducted an aggressive campaign throughout Korea 
for the circulation of the Word of God into the re- 
motest corners of the country. At the request of 
this committee Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alexander 
set the writer free for a time to help in the work, 
and for three months it was my privilege to travel 
through Korea by pony, chair, and railway train, vis- 
iting a large number of the mission stations through- 
out the land. 

The enthusiasm aroused was almost beyond the 
power of words to describe. The Christians every- 
where joined the Pocket Testament League, for they 
had practically been members before, the universal 
custom of the Korean Christians being to carry their 
Testament and generally a hymn-book also about 
with them. The common Korean Testament is a 
large book, but that does not deter them in the least. 
They make a bag for carrying the Book, and this is 
slung over the shoulder, while the girls and young 
women carry their Testament and Hymn-book tied 
round their their waist with a cloth. 

Everywhere in Korea the people began purchas- 
ing Gospels to give to their unsaved friends to lead 
them into the light. The Koreans are perhaps the 



62 The Pocket Testament League. 

poorest people in the Far East, yet out of their 
poverty the Christians of that country purchased 
half a million Gospels in five months in their heroic 
efforts to win the unsaved to Christ. Not only 
men and women, but boys and girls used their 
meagre coins for this purpose. At Chunju and 
Qwangju audiences of about 500 in a few moments 
ordered five thousand Gospels each. The self-sac- 
rifice involved in such liberality may be understood 
when it is realized that the average wage of the 
Korean is less than 15 cents, or seven-pence half- 
penny, a day. 

At the Bible Training classes where this plan of 
circulating God's Word was explained, the enthusi- 
asm and zeal displayed were even greater. At Taiku 
a class of about five hundred men ordered nearly 
sixteen thousand copies; at Pyeng Yang a class of 
eight hundred men purchased twenty-six thousand ; 
while at Syen Chun the class of one thousand four 
hundred purchased thirty-three thousand Gospels 
with which to do personal work. In the smaller 
classes throughout Korea the same enthusiasm 
prevailed. 

Dr. Samuel A. Moffett, the well-known Korean 
missionary, writing in the magazine of the British 
and Foreign Bible Society upon the Bible in Korea, 
says : "This present year witnesses another striking 
movement bearing upon the circulation of the Scrip- 
tures. The Korean Church is undertaking to place 
a copy of the Gospel of St. Mark in every house in 



The Pocket Testament League. 63 

Korea. Already seven hundred thousand copies 
have been printed, and the Korean Christians, buy- 
ing one, ten, one hundred, or a thousand copies 
each, are sending them out in the hands of Christian 
workers, who go two by two to visit every house. 
County after county has been systematically appor- 
tioned for the purpose of such a canvass; and in 
many counties there hardly remains a house without 
its copy of the Gospel. The movement is sweeping 
through the whole country, and it is believed that 
the whole population of Korea will soon have heard 
the Gospel so clearly that they will take its message 
to heart." 

From Korea the Chapman-Alexander party went 
to Japan, where conferences for missionaries and 
meetings for the Japanese were held in a number 
of the leading cities of the country. The League 
was eagerly welcomed by missionaries and Japanese 
Christians as a potent factor in the evangelization 
of the country. Today Japan is more open to the 
Gospel than ever before in its history. All over 
the land there is a great unrest. The people are 
turning away from their vain idols and are search- 
ing after God if haply they may find Him. The 
population of Japan is about forty million, of which 
at present only about a hundred thousand are Chris- 
tians. In provinces containing millions of people 
there are only a few villages in which the Gospel 
has been proclaimed. 

In Japan it has not been customary among the 



64 The Pocket Testament League. 

Christians to carry God's Word with them, but they 
heartily took up the Pocket Testament League, and 
it appealed to them as a simple and practical plan 
that anybody could undertake. Railway and hotel 
employes, soldiers, jinrickshaw men and people of 
all classes joined the movement with enthusiasm. 

Those who were not Christians seemed to join 
as readily as those who were. A Japanese school- 
girl in Yokohama, who joined the League, wrote, 
saying, "I wish to work for Pocket Testament 
League. My father said me 'You must work for 
P. T. League, because your selfishness was changed 
by the Bible.' I carry the Bible every day. I am 
praying for your work." Another young lady in 
the same school wrote: "I am very glad because 
my father, mother and brother, and my two friends 
joined in Pocket Testament. I was a very vanity 
girl, but now I am not vanity, and would Christian 
worker. I learn the organ every day, and singing 
'Carry Your Bible/ Please pray for me. I am 
young, but perhaps God bless me. 

" 'I surrender all, 
All I have I bring to Jesus/ 

I am praying through every day for your work." 
This is the hour of opportunity for reaching the 
students in the universities and technical schools of 
Japan. They are possessed with an absorbing passion 
to learn English, and they seem willing and even 
eager to read and study the Word of God. One 



The Pocket Testament League. 65 

day during a visit to one of the Imperial universi- 
ties in Tokio, a group of the students was keenly 
interested in the League, and a considerable number 
of them who were not Christians readily became 
members. On another occasion I met a crowd of 
students from a technical school coming down the 
mountain after an excursion to Lake Hakone. 
Testaments were presented to a number of them, 
who gladly agreed to read and carry them. A few 
days later one of them wrote, saying, "I must be 
grateful to you and your mother very much for 
your kindness. I am very glad that I shall be 
guided by you after this. I wish to see you again. 
Very glad to learn more of the Bible by your guid- 
ance. Am glad to do anything for you in my 
power." Those words were an indication of the 
eagerness amongst the students for further knowl- 
edge of the Truth. 

The distribution of the Bible throughout Great 
Britain after its translation into English led to a 
religious awakening which changed the history of 
the nation and the destiny of the western world. 
If a Gospel could be placed in every home in Japan 
and in the pockets of the people, it would surely 
be a powerful agency in helping to win Japan to 
Christ. 

The general secretary of the Pocket Testament 
League for Japan is Rev. R. P. Gorbold, of Kioto, 
a missionary who has an intense love for the Word 
of God, and who believes with all his soul in its 



66 The Pocket Testament League. 

transforming and transfiguring power. He hopes 
soon to introduce the movement throughout Japan. 
In a letter written four months after the visit of 
the Chapman- Alexander Mission party, he said: 

"I have put out almost fifty thousand League 
cards. I hope to make a trip over the whole coun- 
try. Yesterday I introduced the League into two 
big schools. The League is the best thing I know 
of with which to promote personal work, and it is 
the easiest step toward the Church. The other 
day on the train the Lord used me to lead a naval 
officer and a university student into the light. 
Each of them having decided to give his life 
to Christ, joined the League, and was as delighted 
as a child to think that there was some such way 
for him to express his faith. 

" Whole provinces are yet untouched. Fifty thou- 
sand cards are nothing like enough. I need a hun- 
dred thousand cards to begin to make it do its work 
in Japan. I get many more who are not Christians 
to join than I do Christians. That is easily under- 
stood since there are so many more who are not 
Christians. But think what this fact means for the 
future of the Kingdom. There is no country in 
the world where more people have a deeper longing 
for God than Japan today. I believe the Spirit will 
guide us in reaching multitudes. Life is so short 
we must reach them while they and we live. Pray 
for us," 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE LEAGUE IN GREAT BRITAIN. 

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor- 
ruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for 
ever." I Peter 1, 23. 

In Great Britain as in other lands the League is 
being welcomed as a valuable adjunct to all forms 
of Christian effort. The English people possess a 
deep reverence for the Word of God, and they read- 
ily endorse any movement which tends to exalt it, 
and make it a more vital factor in daily life. It is 
believed that in Great Britain, where the movement 
had its origin, there will be great results, as people 
carry God's Word, read it more regularly, and use 
it constantly in winning others to Christ. 

The first general introduction of the League into 
England occurred during the winter of 1908 and 
1909, when Mr. Charles M. Alexander conducted 
several song services in Liverpool and other cities. 
At these gatherings the story of the launching of 
the movement in America and the interest it aroused, 
was told, and large numbers eagerly enlisted. Again 
in September, 1910, during a series of conferences 
conducted by Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alexander, pas- 
tors and people heartily took up the plan. 

67 



68 The Pocket Testament League. 

The League often arouses keen enthusiasm 
in places where one would least expect it. During 
a recent voyage from America to England on the 
"Lusitania" a hundred and fifty-four persons joined 
the League, including over a hundred members of 
the crew. A few years ago when crossing the At- 
lantic on the s. s. "Oceanic" I gave New Testaments 
to a number of the stewards. About a year later 
as I stepped aboard the "Baltic" I was cordially 
greeted by a big stalwart steward, I think the largest 
steward on the steamer. After we had been on the 
voyage a day or two he showed me with much de- 
light a little book. It was a New Testament. On 
the fly-leaf was his name and my own. He had re- 
ceived it just twelve months before. He said, "For 
twenty-five years I followed the sea, and was in 
the South African war, but I never had the courage 
to have a Bible or Testament with me until you 
gave me this. It has been with me every trip across 
the Atlantic, except one. It has traveled seventy 
thousand miles." It was needless to ask him whether 
he was a Christian, for the fact shone out of every 
line of his face. He said he had found God partly 
through reading the little book, and partly through 
talking with a Salvation Army man. Throughout 
the voyage whenever I passed him, no matter on 
what task he was engaged, he always had something 
to say about his new-found Master. Just as the 
steamer was docking at New York we were stand- 
ing together on one of the upper decks of the 



The Pocket Testament League. 69 

steamer. As we were saying good-bye, he said, 
"Would it not be nice to have a word of prayer 
before we separate ?" We knelt down, and as that 
steward prayed the very flood-gates of heaven were 
opened, and the joy of the Lord filled our souls. 

In England, as in America, the simplicity and 
practicability of the Pocket Testament League 
appeals strongly to railway men. One day at 
the noon-hour I had the pleasure of explaining 
the League to a body of railway men in a work- 
shop near Cardiff, Wales, as they ate their luncheon. 
The men were keenly interested, and when an invi- 
tation was given, more than seventy of them read- 
ily enlisted. Later other men joined, until the mem- 
bership rose to over a hundred, in the one railway 
workshop. Engine-drivers, guards, and porters, all 
show the same readiness to link themselves with the 
movement. At Helston in Cornwall, a dozen por- 
ters and other officials in the station joined in a 
few moments. 

In Birmingham two and a half years ago nearly 
all the employees on one or two of the tramcar 
lines of the city joined the League. On my return 
this summer a conductor told me that he had read 
his Testament through at least a dozen times. Most 
of those I spoke to assured me that they had read 
theirs through at least once. Another conductor 
told in a letter what a pleasure it was to see passen- 
gers get out their Testaments and begin reading 
them: "My position as conductor on the cars is 



70 The Pocket Testament League. 

such that I am able to see much of the reading mat- 
ter which passengers peruse. It is delightful to see 
the men and boys, and sometimes girls, after pay- 
ing their fare, pull out their Testament nicely cov- 
ered to keep it clean, and to watch the close atten- 
tion they pay to it during their inward or home- 
ward journey. I am sure that by this means many 
are getting to know something of the Scriptures 
which they would not know if it were left to their 
reading at home." 

Many of the best experiences have occurred on 
railway trains and steamships. Recently while en 
route from Cardiff to London on one of the ex- 
press trains I handed a little Gospel to a lad who 
was looking out of the window as I passed through 
the corridor. He accepted it so thankfully that I 
stopped to talk with him, and presently gave him a 
Testament, getting a promise that he would carry 
it with him and read it daily. He was only eleven 
years of age, and in reply to my questions as to 
whether he had ever definitely accepted Christ as 
his own personal Saviour, he said he had never 
taken that step, although he had been praying each 
evening for some time. He said he had begun to 
do this of his own accord, for his father was sim- 
ply a theist, and his mother had never spoken to 
him about becoming a Christian. In a few mo- 
ments he declared that he would then and there 
accept Christ as his Saviour, and in our compart- 
ment, in company with Rev. W. J. Zeal, of Cardiff. 



The Pocket Testament League. 71 

we had a time of prayer. The lad not only joined 
the Pocket Testament League himself, but said he 
would promote the movement among the boys who 
attended his college. A few weeks later he wrote 
saying how glad he was that he had joined the 
League, that fifteen of the college boys had also 
joined, and that fifteen others wished to enlist. 

One day while the train stopped at Gloucester a 
number of Gospels were given to the railway em- 
ployees on the platform. As the train started, my 
fellow-passenger remarked that such distribution of 
God's Word was a most interesting work. When 
I explained the aim and objects of the Pocket Testa- 
ment League as a method of developing Christian 
character and of soul-winning, he was deeply im- 
pressed. He proved to be a Member of Parliament. 
He said he believed the League would prove both 
popular and helpful among his constituents, and 
stated that he would gladly arrange a meeting for 
the promotion of it. 

At one of the largest and best-known hotels in 
London many of the staff eagerly enlisted. Through 
the gift of a Testament one of the telephone men 
was led to accept Christ, and a few weeks later he 
pulled out his Testament and showed with pride 
how he had been reading, not one, but two or three 
chapters a day. In a restaurant on the Strand nine- 
teen of the waitresses and other employees gladly 
accepted Testaments, and were enrolled as members. 
Three months later one of them told how she had 



72 The Pocket Testament League. 

read the Testament through, and enquiries elicited 
the fact that six of these waitresses read their Testa- 
ments on the train as they came to work each morn- 
ing. 

In Birmingham large numbers of boys and girls, 
as well as adults, are members of the League. The 
girls had some difficulty about pockets for carrying 
Testaments, but recently a plan was suggested which 
has solved the difficulty, and which has proved popu- 
lar among older people as well. The children were 
given pieces of cloth, and made neat little bags for 
carrying the Testaments. These were either car- 
ried slung from the neck or worn beneath the dress. 
It proved a boon to boys and men also, for it gave 
them a method of carrying a Testament without 
getting it soiled. 

The honorary secretary of the League in the Brit- 
ish Isles is Mr. Francis C. Brading, whose head- 
quarters are at 15 Strand, London. Mr. Brading 
has worked energetically for the spread of the 
movement, not only in Great Britain, but through- 
out the world. He is secretary of the Scripture 
Gift Mission, which publishes a special League 
Testament that has proved a blessing in many lands. 

Thousands of these Testaments have been used 
in Australia and America, as well as in Great Brit- 
ain. Although any kind of Testament may be used 
by members of the League, this beautifully illus- 
trated edition, has proved an ideal gift-book for 
friends, Sunday school scholars, and people in all 



The Pocket Testament League. 73 

ranks of life as a method of soul-winning and as a 
means of building up Christian character. 

A second League Testament has recently been 
issued, which probably contains the largest type in 
the smallest compass that has yet been published. 
It is bound in leather, fits the vest pocket, and is also 
an ideal Testament for women. The book is the 
product of the Oxford University Press and the 
Scripture Gift Mission, and may be secured from 
the headquarters of the Pocket Testament League. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
HOW TO START THE LEAGUE. 

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that 
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. 

II Timothy 2, 15. 

To start the Pocket Testament League in any- 
church or community is a simple matter. The chief 
qualifications for those desiring to promote the 
movement are a love for God's Word, and a yearn- 
ing for souls. The first step is to join yourself, 
then induce your friends and associates to enlist. 

Those who wish to act as local secretaries in 
churches, chapels, mission halls, or any community 
should write to the nearest League headquarters 
for a supply of membership cards and for full in- 
formation regarding the movement. A conference 
should be held with the pastor of the church, and 
after prayer together plans should be made for 
making the League an efficient and helpful feature 
of the church life. First of all the movement 
should be presented to the congregation at the regu- 
lar church service, either by the pastor or by the 
League secretary. Next the movement should be 
explained at meetings of the various religious or- 
ganizations connected with the Church or chapel. 

74 




School girls at Kunsan, Korea, with their Korean League 

Testaments. 




Missionaries' children at Pyeng Yang, Korea, who are ardent mem- 
bers of the League. 



The Pocket Testament League. 75 

It should be clearly shown that this is a plan which 
will increase the effectiveness of every department 
of church work, and develop the spirituality of every 
member. 

When the League was made a world-wide move- 
ment two and a half years ago, no plan was pro- 
posed for regular meetings of the members, but in 
Australia and elsewhere monthly and weekly meet- 
ings have been carried on with great benefit and 
blessing. This plan is now recommended in pro- 
moting the League, as it encourages the members 
to study the Bible, and win souls to Christ. In 
starting a weekly meeting the first requisite is a 
good Bible teacher. A man or woman should be 
chosen who knows and loves the Scriptures, and 
who is a soul-winner. Much prayer should be of- 
fered over the selection of a leader. The plan of 
the weekly meetings may be varied according to 
circumstances, but the following will in most cases, 
we believe, prove effective. 

The same chapter in the Bible should be read 
each day by each member where a weekly meeting 
is held. This should be in addition to any other 
reading of the Bible. At the weekly gathering a 
rapid review and explanation of the chapters read 
should be given by the leader, and then each mem- 
ber should be afforded an opportunity of asking 
for light on any difficult passages, or for stating 
what chapters and verses have proved most help- 
ful in daily life during the previous week. 



76 The Pocket Testament League. 

In addition to the Bible study there should be 
reports of soul-winning, of new members secured, 
and plans for aggressive work the following week 
should be outlined. 

The meeting should also be one of prayer and 
praise. The following is a suggested outline for 
such a meeting: 

1. PRAISE. 

The singing of "Carry Your Bible/' "Hide 
God's Word in Your Heart," or other Gospel 
hymns. 

2. PRAYER. 

Several brief petitions asking for the guid- 
ance and blessing of the Holy Spirit, as the 
Word of God is studied and expounded. 

3. THE STUDY OF THE WORD. 

According to the plans outlined above, or in 
whatever way may be found most suitable 
in each Branch. 

4. REPORT. 

Brief testimonies and experiences in soul- 
winning since the last gathering, with plans 
for future work. 

It is now proposed to introduce into the world- 
wide work of the Pocket Testament League a new 
plan of Bible study. It is suggested that in addi- 
tion to whatever weekly or monthly meetings are 
held in any local branch of the organization, there 



The Pocket Testament League. 77 

should be, if possible, a period of a week or ten 
days in each year devoted exclusively to the study 
of the Word of God and soul-winning. It is pro- 
posed that each branch or group of branches in the 
same city uniting together, should conduct an an- 
nual Bible Training Class or Bible Institute. The 
best possible teachers of the Bible should be se- 
cured for this Training Class, and a definite pro- 
gramme should be outlined for each day. In the 
morning two or three hours should be devoted to 
the study of the Bible, and in the afternoon one 
study period might be arranged. Following this 
it is suggested that a prayer meeting should be held, 
and then the members go out to do personal work 
until evening. Wherever possible the city might be 
carefully districted, and the members go out two 
by two for house-to-house visitation. In the eve- 
ning an evangelistic service should be held when 
those who had accepted Christ during the day 
through personal effort, and others, would be given 
an opportunity to publicly confess Christ as their 
Saviour. 

This plan of a continuous Bible Training Class 
lasting for a period of a week or ten days is founded 
upon the system in vogue in Korea. In that coun- 
try the plan has attained unprecedented proportions. 
Each year a thousand or more of these Classes are 
held, in which fifty thousand to a hundred thou- 
sand people meet together for the study of the 
Scripture. It is generally admitted that these Bible 



78 The Pocket Testament League. 

Training Classes in Korea have been the chief 
agency under God in the development of the re- 
markable work of grace in progress in that coun- 
try. Not only are local classes held, but general 
classes are conducted at most of the Mission sta- 
tions to which the people come from long distances. 
Frequently men and boys, and even women, will 
walk a hundred miles to attend these conferences. 
It is hoped eventually that similar general Bible In- 
stitutes or Training Classes may be held in the vari- 
ous countries where the League is in operation. In 
speaking of the effect of these classes on the work 
in Korea, Dr. Samuel A. Moffett said, "It is in 
these classes that the whole Korean Church is be- 
ing trained. It is here that the Church receives its 
spiritual inspiration, and it is from these classes 
that men and women are going forth by tens of 
thousands to spread abroad the knowledge of Sal- 
vation through Jesus Christ. It is the study of 
God's Word which has filled the Korean Church 
with the determination to accomplish the evangeli- 
zation of the Korean nation." 



CHAPTER IX. 
HOURS FOR SOUL-WINNING. 

"He that winneth souls is wise." Prov. 11, 30. 

A new feature, which gives promise of making 
the League far more effective than ever before 
as an evangelizing agency, has been recently intro- 
duced. It is a plan for the members of the League 
who are Christians to devote a certain number of 
hours each week to definite soul-winning, and has 
been modeled upon the custom in vogue among the 
Christians in Korea, who devote whole days, weeks, 
and sometimes even months to going about doing 
nothing else but personal work in seeking the lost. 
As the result of this self-sacrifice in individual work 
on the part of the Korean Christians, their Church 
is on fire with a passion for souls. Although the 
Korean Church has only been in existence for a 
quarter of a century, its spiritual tone far surpasses 
that of the Churches in Western lands. 

The plan seems to have been directly inspired by 
the Holy Spirit. During the writer's recent stay 
in Korea, nothing impressed him more than the 
manner in which the Koreans pledged themselves 
to give specified time to definite soul-winning work. 
Some men subscribed ten, some twenty, some thirty, 

79 



80 The Pocket Testament League. 

and some even ninety days, not to be spent in at- 
tending Church services, but in active personal work 
in evangelizing the heathen. During the first four 
months of 1910, not less than a hundred thousand 
days of soul- winning were promised by the enthu- 
siastic Korean Christians. 

In Western lands the giving of days to soul- 
winning would often be impracticable, but it is felt 
that certain hours of each week may well be devoted 
to it by Christians. 

While in Korea the writer was so stirred by the 
self-sacrifice of the Korean Christians that he de- 
cided to devote an hour daily to individual work. 
The plan has proved a far greater blessing than 
had been anticipated, and hundreds of persons have 
been spoken to that the writer would never have 
reached otherwise. Only a few evenings ago, in- 
stead of walking along the street with a friend he 
set off with a view to completing his promised hour. 
After giving Gospels to several persons, he handed 
one to a middle-aged man, who seemed to deeply 
appreciate the gift. This led to further conversa- 
tion, and in a few moments the stranger joined the 
Pocket Testament League. This was the prelude to 
a straightout appeal to him to accept Christ as his 
personal Saviour. For a moment the man was as- 
tonished. Then he confessed that he had failed 
many times, but only a few minutes before he had 
told a friend that he was determined to lead a bet- 
ter life. "How strange/' said he, "that you should 



The Pocket Testament League. 81 

meet me just now and ask me to accept Christ as 
my Saviour/' The man saw the hand of God in 
the whole matter, and then and there yielded him- 
self to Christ, trusting to His strength rather than 
his own for victory in the battle of life. 

On the back of each Testament League card is 
printed the following pledge : 

HOURS OF SOUL WINNING. 

I will try w T ith God's help to devote 

hours each week for months to definite 

personal work in soul- winning. 

Name Date 

Suggestions. 

i . Wherever possible give a Gospel or Testament 
to those you seek to win to Christ. 

2. If possible, induce each person with whom you 

converse to join the Pocket Testament 
League. 

3. Urge each person who accepts Christ to begin 

at once to work for the salvation of others. 

It should be clearly understood that the under- 
taking of these hours of soul-winning is entirely 
voluntary. One may be a full member of the Pocket 
Testament League without enlisting in this plan. 
The time given is in addition to attendance at 
Church services, prayer and Bible reading, and 
the work may be done in homes, churches, shops, 



82 The Pocket Testament League. 

schools, on the streets, in street-cars, trains, any- 
where. The first Western attempt to carry out the 
Korean plan was made in Birmingham, England, 
during the summer of 1910. 

Among the first persons who subscribed hours 
for soul-winning were three boys, fifteen, sixteen 
and seventeen years of age, who had been ardent 
members of the Pocket Testament League for nearly 
three years. They had held frequent meetings for 
Bible study, but had done practically nothing in en- 
rolling new members for the movement, or in seek- 
ing to win souls for Christ. After their first hour 
of soul-winning work they were radiant over the 
joy of it, and in a few days they were on fire with 
a passion to seek the lost. In ten days two of them 
led twenty-one boys to Christ. Then filled with 
enthusiasm, the three lads met together, and of 
their own accord originated a "One Hundred Souls' 
Crusade/ ' by which they would endeavor to win 
a hundred boys to Christ in one year. 

In three weeks the boys reported a total of fifty- 
one lads who had declared they would accept Christ 
as their Saviour. One of the boys in writing to 
Francis C. Brading, the Honorary Secretary of the 
Pocket Testament League in England, said: "We 
hope to win by August twenty-first, 191 1, at least 
one hundred souls for Jesus. It is with personal 
work only that we intend to win our one hundred 
souls. When speaking to boys upon the streets we 
also try to get them to join the Pocket Testament 




A League Edition of the New Testament. Nearly 200,000 copies of 
this book have been sold in less than three years. 



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The Pocket Testament League. 83 

League. Every member of the above Crusade must 
be a member of the Pocket Testament League, and 
when met upon the street are challenged to see if 
they have their Testament with them. We have a 
meeting fortnightly, when we study the New Testa- 
ment. We have also conducted meetings in con- 
nection with the League. We find that the boys 
and girls especially like that hymn, 'Carry your 
Bible/ " 

Another instance is that of a commercial traveler 
who has adopted the plan of devoting thirty min- 
utes each day during his luncheon hour to talking 
with people and endeavoring to win them to Christ. 
He says he finds a wonderful joy in thus setting 
apart a stated time each day for this definite work 
for God. 



CHAPTER X. 
THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT. 

"And the Word of God increased; and the number of the 
disciples multiplied . . . greatly/ 9 Acts 6, 7. 

Christian workers in different parts of the world 
are eagerly adopting the new method of soul-win- 
ning through the gift of God's Word, which will 
not return unto Him void, although our best efforts 
may sometimes seem to fail. 

Miss Beatrice Cadbury, a sister of Mrs. Alexan- 
der, gives the following account of the value of Gos- 
pels in connection with her work : 

"At an early morning school for women, in which 
I have a class, one of the teachers is regularly ac- 
companied by a little Jewish girl eleven years old. 
One Sunday the women were shown some small 
Gospels of St. John, and encouraged to buy these 
for use in personal work. Some days later I no- 
ticed the little Jewish girl buying four of these 
Gospels, and went up to speak to her. 'How did 
you get the money for the Gospels ?' I asked. 'Oh, 
I ran errands and earned two-pence, and saved it 
for the Gospels/ was the reply. 

'The next week I asked her if she had given 

84 



a* 



The Pocket Testament League. 85 

them away. Yes, they had been given away, but 
at first she was too shy to tell me to whom. Finally, 
however, I found out that the day before she had 
been crossing the street in a crowded part of the 
city, and half way across had stood by a police- 
man. She had handed him a Gospel, which he took 
promising to read and carry it. Then the Decision 
Card at the end was pointed out to him. 'That is a 
serious matter,' he said; T must think before I 
write my name there' : and then bending down to 
the child, he said quietly to her, 'But I shall do it 
when I get home.' 

"Another girl who works all the week in a fac- 
tory saved up a little money to buy Gospels for giv- 
ing away instead of buying milk and small extras 
for herself. One of these Gospels she gave to her 
forewoman, who is an atheist, and she spoke of the 
joy it gave her to do this work. 

"On Sunday evening I went round to visit a 
home where I found one of the daughters and a 
young man sitting together in the kitchen. The 
girl had been given a Testament some time before, 
but after a time had dropped out of the regular 
habit of reading it. She promised to begin once 
more to read it daily. The young man said he was 
a Christian, but was not in the habit of reading 
or praying. He accepted a Testament, promising to 
read and carry it daily, and before I left we had a 
short time of prayer all together. 

"I have found the giving away of the Word of 



86 The Pocket Testament League. 

God a wonderful joy, and in the small experience 1 
have had it has always been willingly received. It 
opens up opportunities for direct personal work 
which could hardly be done were it not for the 
introduction which is given in this way. When 
once on the lookout for people to whom to speak, 
instead of being very few and far between, as I 
thought they would be, the number increases amaz- 
ingly." 

Miss Eleanor Stafford Millar, the Australian 
evangelist, who during the past six years has been 
doing a great work for God in the United States, 
was recently in England, and sent me the following 
letter : 

"When the Scotch express pulled up for a few 
moments at Crewe I noticed two young men near 
my window wearing the garb of the North Western 
Railroad, but apparently at leisure. I called them 
to my window, and handed them a small but very 
attractive edition of St. John bound in brilliant red. 
I asked them if they would read and carry it. They 
consented very readily. When the train pulled out 
of the station the last I saw of the young men 
they were reading the Gospel. 

"Later on when in the dining car I handed a 
Gospel to the head-waiter and asked him the same 
question. "Will you carry and read?' With a smile 
he agreed to do so. Then I sent for the three as- 
sistants, and gave them each a copy, which they 
received with pleasurable interest. Then the 



The Pocket Testament League. 87 

thought came to me, why not ask the head-waiter 
to join the Pocket Testament League. He most 
willingly consented. 

"A little later when settling down in my com- 
partment for the long journey I suddenly felt the 
strange sensation of having left the task unfinished. 
What of the other three young men to whom I had 
given a Gospel but had not introduced the League? 
I returned to the dining car, and asked to see them. 
The first one assured me he had been wishing to 
join. I spoke to them of my Friend, and saying to 
one, 'Do you believe Him to be the best Friend a 
man can have?' 'Yes/ he said; T do, even a crimi- 
nal will acknowledge that much/ 'But/ I said, 'do 
you believe it?' 'Yes, I do/ 

"By this time my heart was warm and my mind 
busy. The hour had been one of the most profitable 
and pleasant I had ever spent in a dining car. I was 
astonished how willingly, nay, how eagerly my 
gifts had been received. It was God's method when 
he came to find man; it was through a gift." 

Mr. Robert Harkness, the pianist and composer 
of Gospel hymns, who has led numbers of individ- 
uals to Christ, became so keenly interested in the 
plan of giving time to God for direct work in soul- 
winning that he wrote the words and music of the 
inspiring hymn, "Give Time to Work for Jesus," 
which appears in this book. 

Mr. W. W. Rock, another Australian friend of 
mine, says: 



88 The Pocket Testament League. 

"I have found the greatest joy in seeking to lead 
people to a more definite knowledge of the Saviour, 
and in presenting to them the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ. This work with individuals has proved not 
only a blessing to some, but a spiritual uplift to my 
own life. Recently a fine young fellow of 17 years 
employed in a large manufacturing house in 
Birmingham came to see me on business. At the 
close of our business transaction he accepted a small 
Gospel of St. John, which he promised to read. His 
ready acceptance of the book and his earnest man- 
ner led me to speak further with him, and after a 
short conversation he came out on the Lord's side. 

"During the recent conference conducted by Dr. 
Chapman and Mr. Alexander at Ipswich, England, 
almost the entire staff of the hotel at which I was 
staying joined the Pocket Testament League. I 
began by giving each a little Gospel. Then the 
head-waiter, who was already a Christian, signed 
up on the League. His example was followed by 
one or two others, and it was interesting to notice 
the eagerness displayed. The news of the League 
spread around the hotel, and instead of having to 
seek out each member of the staff, I found them 
coming to me and requesting to be allowed to join 
the League. Not the least enthusiastic was the 
kitchen staff, all of whom became members when I 
visited their quarters. 

"The readiness with which these little Gospels 
are accepted and. read has made the giving of them 



The Pocket Testament League. 89 

a pleasure, and never in my experience have I met 
with a refusal to accept them. On the contrary, 
the way has always opened up wonderfully for a 
natural conversation concerning spiritual things." 

An attractive Gospel of St. John has recently 
been issued by the Bible Institute Colportage Asso- 
ciation, of Chicago. It contains a number of fea- 
tures which make it an effective instrument for per- 
sonal work. Certain verses throughout the Gospel 
showing the way of life are printed in black-faced 
type, and in the front of each book is a page by Dr. 
Chapman, showing how to use certain verses in the 
Gospel to lead people to Christ. At the end of the 
book there are also four of Mr. Alexander's Gospel 
hymns, with words and music. These Gospels are 
sold at an extremely low cost, so that they may 
be purchased in large quantities for use in personal 
work, and may be secured from the headquarters 
of the Pocket Testament League, 156 Fifth Ave- 
nue, New York City. 

At the conclusion of the recent mission in Cardiff, 
Wales, conducted by Dr. Chapman and Mr. Alex- 
ander, a soul-winning Crusade was inaugurated, the 
distribution of God's Word being one of the chief 
agencies employed. When the plan of purchasing 
Gospels for use in soul-winning was presented at a 
conference of ministers and Christian workers in 
Cardiff some months later it was received with keen 
enthusiasm. One business man gave an order for 



90 The Pocket Testament League. 

ten thousaand Gospels ; another wanted a thousand, 
and a third two hundred and fifty. 

The facts in this book are recorded that Chris- 
tians everywhere may gain a new love for the Bible, 
and may use it as an aggressive weapon in the 
Christian warfare. 

For "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- 
rection, for instruction in righteousness, that the 
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 
unto all good works." II Timothy III, 16, 17. 

May God hasten the day when His word shall 
be read and carried, studied and memorized, and 
circulated broadcast throughout the length and 
breadth of every land. Then speedily shall "the 
whole earth be filled with the knowledge of the 
glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." 

Well might Isaiah break forth into rhapsody as 
he foretold the harvest resulting from the sowing 
of God's Word throughout the world: 

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my 
mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it 
shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall 
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall 
go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the 
mountains and the hills shall break forth before you 
into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap 
their hands." 



No. 57. 



Carry your Bible. 



Hebrews Tv. 12. 

Dedicated to Mrs. Chas. M. Alexander, the Originator of 'The Pocket Testament League.' 
Fred. P. Morris. Robert Harkness. 




i. Carry your Bi - ble with you, Let all its bless - ing out flow - 

2. Car - ry the word of par - don, Sweet-er each day it will grow ; 

3. Car-ry the won-droussto - ry, Tell it to hearts plung'd in woe; 

4. Car-ry the word of pro • mise; Sin -tiers un • par - don'd may know 



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God's Word in the Heart. 



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R. H. Dedicated to Mrs. E. A. R. Davis. Robert Harkness. 



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National Headquarters 

OF THE 

Pocket Testament League 



THE UNITED STATES 
DR. PARLEY E. ZARTMANN, 

156 Fifth Avenue, New York City. 

GREAT BRITAIN 
FRANCIS C. BRADING, 

15 Strand, London W. C, England. 

AUSTRALIA 

MISS ADA M. SHUM, 376 Swanston St., Melbourne. 

CHINA 

REV. ABRAM E. CORY, .... Nanking. 

KOREA 

MR. HUGH MILLER, .... Seoul, Korea. 
Agent British and Foreign Bible Society. 

JAPAN 

REV. J. F. GORBOLD, - - Ichi Jo Dori, Kioto. 

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 

REV. GEORGE W. WRIGHT, - Box 437, Manila. 

President Ellinwood Seminary. 



Pocket Testament League 
Supplies. 



MEMBERSHIP CARDS. 

Containing the League pledge and giving suggestions for 
members. 

Price 50 cents per hundred, postpaid. 

GOSPELS OF ST. JOHN. 

Containing verses in black-faced type showing the Way 
of Salvation; a page by Dr. Chapman telling how to use 
certain verses to lead people to Christ; and four of Mr. 
Alexander's hymns. Words and music. 

Price 5 cents a copy; 40 cents a dozen, or $3.00 a hundred, 
postpaid. 

PICTORIAL LEAGUE TESTAMENT. 

A beautiful pocket Testament containing 17 pictures in 
color and 16 in black and white. The drawings were made 
by Harper and Clark, who spent months in the Holy Land. 
The Testaments are bound in cloth with a colored picture on 
the cover. An ideal gift book for use in personal work. 

Price 25 cents each; $2.50 a dozen, or $20.00 a hundred, 
prepaid. 

LEATHER LEAGUE TESTAMENT. 

A wonderful achievement in Testament-making; large, 
clear type in small compass. An ideal book for women. For 
men it just fits the vest pocket. Flexible leather binding 
in buff and purple, with colored frontispiece. 

Price 50 cents each, or $4.50 per dozen, postpaid. 

THE POCKET TESTAMENT LEAGUE 

Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, 



Over One Million Copies Alexander's Songs Ko. 1 Sold Within Two Years 

ALEXANDER'S GOSPEL SONGS 

NUMBER 2 

Including the Popular Choruses, "Traveling Home/* and "I Am Included," 
Also Standard Hymns by 

Robert Harkness D. B. Towner James RfcGranahan 
Charles H. Gabriel John Hillis 

Alexander's Latest Sook Published Oct. t3, t9l0; used 

for the first time in the Chapman-Alexander 

emission in Chicago* 



This is the best Song Book Mr. Alexander has 
ever published. I have the assurance that God's 
approval has been given it, and I know that it will 
prove a blessing to many people. 

Kev. J. Wilbur Chapman, D. D. 



Alexander's Gospel Songs, No. 2 

CONTAINS 

41 New Hymns hitherto not published in the 

United States. 
38 Solos and Duets. 
25 Invitation Hymns. 
20 Special Choir Pieces 

as well as 

A Large Collection of Standard and Popular Hymns 

Price, Limp Cloth, 25c per copy, postpaid. $20.00 per 100. 
Price, Cloth Boards, 30c per copy, postpaid, $25.00 per 100. 

PUBLISHED BY 

FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 

80 Wabash Am., Chicago 
,, .158? ifthAve.* New Yotk 



KOREA FOR CHRIST 



A thrilling narrrative of the Work of Grace in progress 
in the one-time Hermit-Land. 



By GEORGE T. B. DAVIS 
Interviews with Leading Missionaries 

mmmmMmmmmmmmm mmmmmmm mmmmmmm , ■ ■ ■ —! ■■ ■■rrnTf ■ ■illi nium — ■ .nwrinw i win« 

Stirring Incidents from Life in Korea 

— ■— ■ ■ < —■ ■ ■ ■■» ■ i 11 i ■ mmm mm^mmmmm—mmm 

Pictures of Koreans and Missionaries 



A copy of this book was presented to each delegate 
attending the World Missionary Conference at Edin- 
burgh. Requests have come to translate it into Nor- 
wegian, German and Tamil. One missionary society 
has had a copy sent to each of its missionaries. 



PRICE 25 CENTS 

THE FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 

158 Fifth Avenue, New York 
80 Wabash Avenue, Chicago 






DEO SO I 



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